Louisville Falls to North Carolina Following Controversial Overtime

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On the heels of falling to Duke on Saturday, the Louisville men's basketball welcomed their arch-rival North Carolina to the KFC Yum! Center Tuesday night, falling 90-83 in overtime.

The game wasn't without drama involving the officials, as the final period of the game featured several controversial calls, most of them revolving around Tar Heels big man Armando Bacot. After Louisville's Matt Cross was sent to floor following a jump ball against Bacot, Jae'Lyn Withers gave Bacot a shove, and was called for technical after a clear flop. Another technical was added after a water bottle was thrown to the floor.

Would have been Louisville’s ball (possession arrow) down 3. Instead, 2 shots and the ball for UNC as this was deemed a flagrant foul on 24 white. https://t.co/7RjoSfuLZr pic.twitter.com/iBALfHSPAb
— Cyrus Wittig (@CyWittig) February 2, 2022

In the overtime's waning seconds with Louisville trailing by three, Bacot delivered an arm bar box out to Louisville's Sydney Curry's neck, with Curry being called for a foul. After slamming the scorer's table in frustration, interim head coach Mike Pegues was called for a technical as well, giving UNC the free throws necessary to ice the game.

The “foul” in question on Sydney Curry, as well as what Mike Pegues drew a technical for. Questionable to say the least. pic.twitter.com/3cboe5H8xk
— Matt McGavic (@Matt_McGavic) February 2, 2022

El Ellis finished with a game- and season-high 25 points, with all of his scoring coming in the second half and OT. Cross poured in with 13 points, also adding a game- and season-high 15 rebounds. Withers and Curry also had 12 and 10, respectively.

The Cardinals shot just 40.0 percent for the game, but were a blazing 15-35 on three-point attempts, with the makes being a season-high. North Carolina shot marginally better at 43.7 percent, but also was raining three, pouring in 12-26.

Louisville was already fighting an uphill battle before the ball was even tipped off. Starting forward/center Malik Williams - the team's leading scorer and reboudner - was suspended indefinitely earlier in the week, and reserve center Roosevelt Wheeler was out after suffering a concussion against Duke.

The Cardinals got off to a hot shooting start against UNC, connecting on seven of their first 10 field goal attempts, and maintaining the lead for the first ten minutes of the game. But like all season long, the offense eventually started to stall out. They only able to hit one of their next 11 shots, going 4:43 and 3:22 without making a field goal to let UNC jump in front.

But like in their previous game against Duke, Louisville continued to show a lot of fight, and were determined to not let North Carolina go on a roll. The Heels hit just three of their final nine field goal attempts of the first half, while the offense was able to find enough of a rhythm to head into halftime trailing by just a single point.

More: Highlights, Photos and Notes: North Carolina 90, Louisville 83 (OT)

The Cardinals scored the first points out of the locker room, but it was UNC who dominated the first two segments of the second half. The Tar Heels used a 19-7 swing to flip a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead, and were trending towards a blowout.

But when things looked grim, Louisville caught absolute fire from beyond the arc. The Cardinals hit five straight three-pointers as part of a 17-3 run, four of them coming Ellis, to seize back the lead.

The Heels were up by two in the final minute, but Ellis was able to strip the ball away and get the layup to tie the game. UNC's R.J. Davis looked to have a game-winning layup in the final seconds, but was blocked by Withers to send the game to overtime.

Next up, Louisville will head back on the road to face Syracuse. Tip-off against the Orange is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Matt Cross, R.J. Davis: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)

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