Second Half Effort Dooms Louisville in Maui Invitational Finale vs. Cincinnati
LAHAINA, Hawaii - Playing in their first game against former longtime conference rival Cincinnati since 2014, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable to end their run in the Maui Invitational with a win, falling 81-62 Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center in their third and final game in the event.
Under first year head coach Kenny Payne, the Cardinals extend their worst start in the modern era to 0-6, and claim the eighth place finish in the Maui Invitational. Between blowout losses to Arkansas, Texas Tech and the Bearcats (4-3), Louisville was out-scored 231-to-154 during their three-game run in Hawaii.
Trailing by only a point at halftime, Louisville then proceeded to to allow Cincinnati to score nearly at at-will, with the Bearcats connecting on 61.8 percent of their shots in the second half. Despite shooting around 50.0 percent for most of the half, they still were out-scored 50-32 during the second half.
Louisville finished the matchup shooting 43.1 percent from the field to Cincinnati's 53.2 percent. While the Cardinals were 15-of-21 at the free throw line to the Bearcats' 3-of-5, that was countered by a 12-of-23 three-point shooting effort from UC while UofL could only muster 3-of-13.
Once again, Louisville was mostly careless with the ball, turning it over 15 times, which resulted in 18 Cincinnati points. The Bearcats also tallied 29 fast break points, while the Cardinals only had four.
Four players finished in double figured for Louisville, led by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield's 15 points. El Ellis had 13, while J.J. Traynor and Kamari Lands each had 10. David DeJulius and Landers Nolley II had 26 and 21 for Cincinnati, respectively.
The first half was of the game can be best described as a tightly contested rock fight, as it featured 16 lead changes and five ties, with each team shooting under 45 percent. Both offenses struggled to establish rhythm at first, but each started to find what worked for them as the half progressed.
For Louisville, it was attacking the paint and converting on free throws, as six of their 11 first half baskets came on layups, while they also went 8-13 at the free throw line. For Cincinnati, it was getting the outside shot going, as they connected on six of their final nine three-point shots of the half after missing their first seven.
The Cardinals had a chance to seize their first halftime lead since the second game of the season vs. Wright State, but DeJulius' long three-pointer off the glass gave the Bearcats a 31-30 advantage heading into the locker room.
That trickle of momentum for UC turned into a landslide once the second half resumed. The Bearcats went on an 18-5 run right out of the break, including an 11-0 stretch, to flip a one-point lead into 14 points in just seven minutes.
Louisville did show some fight down the stretch, as they were able to trim the deficit to as little as 10 with just under five minutes to go, but that's as close as they got.
Next up, Louisville will return home to the KFC Yum! Center and take on Maryland as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tip-off against the Terrapins is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of El Ellis: Brian Spurlock - KemperLesnik)
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