Louisville Defeats Clemson to Snap Losing Streak
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The streak is finally over.
Taking on Clemson for their second-to-last home game of the 2021-22 season, the Louisville men's basketball program was finally able to snap their lengthy skid and return to the win column, claiming a 70-61 victory over the Tigers Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.
The victory snaps a seven-game losing streak for the Cardinals (12-14, 6-10 ACC), which was the longest for the program since 1941. It is only their second victory over the past 12 games, and their fourth win in the 2022 calendar year. Meanwhile, the Tigers' (12-15, 4-12 ACC) losing streak gets extended to six.
Related: Highlights, Photos and Notes
Louisville shot 45.6 percent from the field to Clemson's 43.1 percent, won the rebounding battle 36-33, and forced 12 turnovers leading to 19 points. They also prevented the Tigers from going to the free throw line, with Clemson taking just four.
Noah Locke led the Cardinals' scoring efforts with 15 points, followed by 12 and 11 points from Malik Williams and El Ellis, respectively. Clemson's Al-Amir Dawes led all scorers with 18.
With Clemson big man and leading scorer P.J. Hall exiting the game in the first minute due to a left leg injury, Louisville saw early success down low. They tallied 20 points in the paint, shot 11-16 on two point attempts, and won the rebounding battle by six in the first half.
But instead of heading into halftime with a large lead, they held just a 28-27 advantage. This was due to them, in part, missing all 10 of their first half three-point attempts, and streaky defense. The Tigers had scoring droughts of 4:53 and 4:05, but still managed to connect on 11 of their 26 field goal attempts before half.
Louisville's long range shooting vastly improved in the second half, going 8-19 on three-point attempts, including four straight for a 12-0 run in the first few minutes out of halftime.
More: What Mike Pegues, Malik Williams and Noah Locke Said
Even with the improved shooting, Clemson still remained very much in the game. Not long after Louisville's 12-0 scoring run, the Tigers used a 9-12 shooting stretch to pull ahead by one with 7:34 left.
But down the stretch, unlike previous games, Louisville didn't falter. After falling behind late, they fired off a 15-3 run to lead by as much as 11 with 1:11 to go. Following the rough patch in the middle segment of the second half, the defense forced Clemson to connect on just two of their final nine shots.
Next up, Louisville will embark on a three-game road trip starting with a rematch at North Carolina. Tip-off against the Tar Heels is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 21 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Jae'Lyn Withers, Ben Middlebrooks: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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