Syracuse Survives at Louisville
A slip that caused near disaster but a clutch poke of the ball by Jesse Edwards secured a 70-69 win for Syracuse at Louisville. With the win, the Orange improved to 10-5 (3-1) on the season while the Cardinals dropped to 2-13 (0-4). Next up for Syracuse is a big step up in competition, at #11 Virginia on Saturday.
Joe Girard made some big shots down the stretch including clutch foul shots that put Syracuse in position to win. Up by three with under 15 seconds left, Syracuse used its two fouls to give and then fouled Louisville guard El Ellis to put him at the line for a one and one. Ellis made them both to trim the lead to one.
The ball was inbounded to Judah Mintz, who raced up court and was trying to run as much clock as possible before getting fouled when he slipped just past midcourt. Upon slipping and falling to the floor, the ball popped out and bounced right to Louisville. Ellis raced up court trailing by one with a chance to give the Cardinals a thrilling last second victory. Jesse Edwards was behind him, reached in and poked the ball as Ellis started to get into the line, which caused a loose ball. Benny Williams dove on it and the clock expired.
It was not a pretty game by any means as Louisville is perhaps the worst high major program in the country and turned it over 21 times including 14 in the first half. Despite that, Syracuse trailed by one at the half, by as many as nine in the game overall and by five with under six minutes to play. Girard then made a pair of threes and four free throws down the stretch to pair with Mintz getting a couple of steals and four late points.
Overall, Syracuse shot 40.7% from the field compared to 42.9% from Louisville. The Cardinals made 40.7% from beyond the arc to 43.8% for the Orange. Syracuse had a big edge in free throws, making 19-25 compared to 4-10 for Louisville. SU also had 25 points off turnovers.
Girard led with 28 points on 7-18 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Judah Mintz scored 16 points to go along with four assists and two steals. Jesse Edwards added 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Chris Bell hit a pair of threes on his way to eight points.
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