Comeback Falls Short, Louisville Falls to Chattanooga for First Loss of Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Taking on Chattanooga in their second game of a three-game home-stand to tip-off the regular season, the Louisville men's basketball program ran into the first road block of their 2023-24 campaign, falling to Chattanooga 81-71 Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

Trailing by 21 with just under seven minutes to go, the Cardinals (1-1, 0-0 ACC) fired off a 19-5 run, including a 12-0 stretch that put them within seven of the Mocs (2-0, 0-0 SoCon) with two minutes to go.

However, a good mark by Chattanooga at the free throw line in the final two minutes (8-12) negated Louisville's 3-5 shooting mark in this same stretch, sealing the loss.

The Cardinals - who went 4-28 last season in head coach Kenny Payne's first year at the helm - fall to 1-5 in November home games under Payne, with his lone win coming earlier this week in their season-opener vs. UMBC. UofL had been 65-3 in such games before his arrival, and it marks their first November home loss by double digits to an unranked opponent.

Louisville had previously been 21-2 against the Southern Conference since 1959-60, suffer their first loss to a team from the league since an 80-72 overtime loss to Furman on Nov. 12, 2021. Their last showdown with the Mocs was a 106-65 beatdown back on Nov. 22, 2010.

Like in their opener against UMBC on Monday, Louisville struggled mightily with shot selection and defensive rotations, particularly when it came to containing the three-ball. Chattanooga shot 44.3 percent from the field and a 14-of-34 mark on three-point attempts, while the Cards were just 38.2 percent and 6-of-18, respectively.

The rebounding battle ended dead even at 41 a piece, Louisville turned the ball over 15 times, and assisted on just 11 of their 26 made field goals.

Mike James and Tre White each poured in 17 points in the losing effort, while Skyy Clark has 12 points, and Bandon Huntley-Hatfield has six points and 14 rebounds. On the other side, Honor Huff had a game-high 25 points for the Mocs, while Myles Che had 22.

Louisville spent nearly the entire first half playing from behind, scoring five of the game's first eight points but then allowing the Chattanooga to go on a 7-0 run. The Cardinals re-took the lead just once in the half, but thanks to poor shot selection and bad execution on the defensive glass, the Mocs spent most of the period up by two possessions.

Louisville shot just 9-for-30 in the first half, including a stretch where they missed seven straight attempts and went five minutes even without a field goal. Had Chattanooga not been so streaky shooting it themselves, going 12-of-35 in the first half, the Cardinals would have dug themselves into a bigger first half hole. However, the Mocs took only a 33-27 advantage went into the locker room.

Things didn't much better to start the second half. Louisville collected the first bucket out of halftime, but then Chattanooga countered with a 21-6 run to take control. The Cardinals connected on just four of their first 15 shots of the period, while the Mocs went 8-of-12 during this cold streak.

Next up, Louisville will conclude their three-game home stand to open the 2023-24 season with a matchup against Coppin State. Tip-off against the Eagles is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Skyy Clark: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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