Louisville Holds Off Western Kentucky for First Win of 2022-23 Season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It might have taken over a month, but the Louisville men's basketball program has finally secured their first victory of the Kenny Payne era.
Hosting in-state foe Western Kentucky, the Cardinals were able to snap their lengthy losing streak to start the 2022-23 season in semi-dominating fashion, holding off the Hilltoppers long enough to capture a 94-83 victory Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
The win snaps a nine-game losing streak to start the season, which had matched the program's worst start since the 1940-41 team lost their first 11 games.
All night long, the Cardinals operated with a higher level of energy, effort and execution that they hadn't shown all season long, and it showed up on the stat sheet.
Louisville shot 54.4 percent from the field and a blazing 52.0 percent on three-point attempts, compared to 47.1 and 34.6 percent, respectively, for Western Kentucky. The Cardinals were also near-automatic at the free throw line, shooting 19-of-20 to WKU's 8-of-11.
While the Hilltoppers won the rebounding battle 37-29 and out-scored their hosts 42-28 in the paint, the Cardinals made up for it by having single-handedly their best passing game of the season. Louisville notched 17 assists to 13 turnovers for their first positive single-game assist/turnover ratio all season.
The win was powered mainly by a career night from El Ellis, whose 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 10 assists were both career highs. He had the most points from a Louisville player with at least 10 assists since Reece Gaines had 30 and 10 against TCU on Mar. 6, 2002.
Four other Cardinals also finished in double figures. Kamari Lands had a career-high 15 points, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 11, and both Sydney Curry and Jae'Lyn Withers notched 10 points. Three Hilltoppers had double digit points, led by Dayvion McKnight's 25.
Early on, it looked like the game was trending towards yet another blowout loss. Western Kentucky set the tone early, taking a 15-7 lead through the first seven minute, including an 8-0 run that seemed to indicate the bottom was about to fall out again.
However, Louisville did something that they have not been able to do all season: respond after getting punched in the mouth. Powered mainly by Ellis, the Cardinals responded with a seven-minute stretch where they out-scored the Hilltoppers 23-to-9.
WKU was able to trim their deficit to as little as two points with just over two minutes until halftime, but Louisville used a quick 11-2 burst to take a 46-35 lead into the locker room.
The Cardinals carried that momentum into the second half, using hot shooting to go up by as much as 20 points just over six minutes into the second half.
However, the Hilltoppers were not going to go away quietly. After connecting on only three of their first 15 shot attempts of the half, WKU's shooting improved dramatically, connecting on 17 of their final 25 attempts to make it a 10 point game with just under three minutes to go.
Fortunately for Louisville, like in the first half, they did not fold in the face of pressure. Their shooting did not waiver down the stretch, and they took full advantage at the free throw line, missing only one of their 14 second half free throw attempts - and hitting their final 10.
Next up, Louisville will cap off their brief two-game home stand with a matchup against Florida A&M. Tip-off against the Rattlers is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Sydney Curry, Dayvion McKnight: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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