Louisville Falls to Boston College in Regular Season Finale
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting a rematch with Boston College for their final game of the 2023-24 regular season, the Louisville men's basketball program once again came up short, falling 67-61 on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals (8-23, 3-17 ACC) end the regular season on a seven-game losing streak with their loss to the Eagles (17-14, 9-10 ACC), marking their longest losing streak of the season. They have lost by an average margin of 16.3 points during this span, while also failing to avenge an 89-77 loss in Chestnut Hill, Mass. back on Feb. 13 in the first matchup.
While poor defense has been Louisville's calling card during their losing streak, it was the offensive end that faltered the most. They connected on just 33.3 percent of their field goal attempts, were just 4-of-17 on three-pointers, and wound up having more made free throws than field goals (23 to 17). They were also out-rebounded 42-31, and committed 13 turnovers against nine assists.
The Cardinals' defense wasn't that much better. They allowed Boston College to shoot 43.1 from the field and 8-of-25 on threes, but did force 16 turnovers.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield led Louisville in scoring with 14 points, and came one rebound short of a double-double. Skyy Clark also cracked double figures in scoring with 11 points. BC's Claudell Harris Jr. led all scorers with 18 points.
Louisville has had some inauspicious starts to games under head coach Kenny Payne, but their opening segment against Boston College was one of their worst of the season. The Cardinals committed seven turnovers in the first six minutes, and allowed the Eagles to sink six of their first 10 shots, putting them down 17-5 just over six minutes into the contest.
A subsequent 13-2 run by Louisville helped them trim the deficit to as little as three points at the 9:01 mark of the half, but that was then countered by a 15-4 stretch from Boston College to push their advantage all the way up to 14 with 5:25 until the half.
The Cards did show some fight down the stretch of the half, firing off a 9-0 run to make it a five-point game with 92 seconds left. The Eagles, however, made the last two baskets of the half, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to take a 41-31 lead into halftime.
Like they did throughout the first half, these two teams traded runs right out of the gates in the second half. Louisville scored the first six points of the half to get within four, Boston College responded with a 12-0 stretch, then Skyy Clark went on a 6-0 scoring burst by himself to get back to within 10.
After that point, the Cardinals struggled to string together the necessary offensive and defensive possessions to mount a last minute comeback. In the final 12 minutes, neither team was able to score more than four points in a row, spoiling any any chance of securing a victory on Senior Night.
Next up, Louisville will head to Washington D.C. for the ACC Tournament. The Cardinals have already clinched the No. 15 seed in the tournament, and their first opponent will be determined later this evening.
(Photo of Kaleb Glenn: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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