Highlights, Photos and Notes: Louisville 94, Western Kentucky 83

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is winless no more, as they captured a convincing 94-83 victory over Western Kentucky to snap a nine-game skid to open the season and win their first game in the Kenny Payne era.

The Atlantic Coast Conference put together a highlight tape of the matchup, which you can see here:

Team Notes:

UofL used the starting lineup of Mike James, El Ellis, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Jae’Lyn Withers, and Sydney Curry for the eighth game this season. This lineup is now 1-7 this season.
KEY FIRST HALF RUN: The Cardinals closed the first half on a 16-5 run over the final 4:33, capping the burst off with a 3-pointer from JJ Traynor that just beat the buzzer.

The Hilltoppers jumped out to an early lead with an 8-0 run starting at the 14:55 mark and elapsing 1:34. However, Louisville answered back with an 11-2 run that saw the Cardinals connect on five straight field goal attempts to take a 21-20 lead.

KEY SECOND HALF RUN: Louisville increased their lead with a quick 7-0 spurt to begin the second half, starting at 18:29 and lasting just 53 seconds.

The Cardinals stretched their lead to as much as 20, and the Hilltoppers were unable to get the deficit under double figures.
Louisville set a new season-high for points in a half with 48 over the final 20 minutes, eclipsing their previous best that was set in the first half.

UofL shot 31 of 57 (.554) from the field, 13 of 25 (.520) from 3-point range, and 19 of 20 (.950) from the free-throw line.

The Cardinals set new season highs in field goals made, field goal percentage, 3-point field goals made, 3-point percentage, free throws made, and free throw percentage.

Louisville’s 94 points were also a season high, along with their 17 assists. Their 13 turnovers tied a season low.

Their 94 points was the highest point total for the Cardinals since scoring 99 in a win over Eastern Kentucky exactly three years ago today, when Louisville was ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll.

Five Louisville players scored in double figures, the first time that has happened since a win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament on Mar. 8, 2022.

Player Notes:

Senior El Ellis notched career highs in both points and assists, recording his first career double-double with 30 points and 10 assists.

The point guard shot 10 of 19 from the floor, 4 of 7 from behind the three-point line and was 6 for 7 from the charity stripe.
Ellis recorded the 19th 30-point double-double in Louisville basketball history, and it was the first time a Louisville player has had at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game since Reece Gaines also tallied 30 points and 10 assists against Texas Christian in 2002.
Ellis is the first player in Division I basketball this season with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game.
It was the first Louisville double-double with points and assists since Darius Perry recorded 10 points and 12 assists against Youngstown State in 2019.

Kamari Lands recorded a new career high in points, scoring 15 with all three of his made field goals coming from 3-point range.

The forward also nailed all six of his free throw attempts and logged a career high with 27 minutes.

Sydney Curry set a new season high with 10 points, shooting 3 of 5 from the floor and a perfect 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.

The forward also pulled down six rebounds and dished out his first assist of the season, while playing a season-high 25 minutes.

Jae'Lyn Withers, despite picking up two fouls within the first minute of the game, the redshirt junior tallied 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists in only 19 minutes of action.

The forward did not miss a shot from the floor, connecting on all four of his field goal attempts and hitting both of his shots from beyond the arc.

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was the fifth Cardinal in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting in 27 minutes.

The forward’s two made 3-pointers set a new career-high.

J.J. Traynor scored eight points in the contest, shooting 3 of 7 from the floor and cashing in on 2 of his 5 3-point attempts.

The forward played 29 minutes, snaring four rebounds and setting a new career high with three steals.

Gallery:

NOTE: Photos courtesy of USA TODAY's Jamie Rhodes.

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