Louisville survived a low scoring affair to get past the Clemson Tigers 56-55 on Saturday.
Clemson led 23-19 at halftime after a first half that was filled with missed shots and turnovers. Louisville still trailed 29-22 early on in the second period but would go 5-10 from three in the half to extend its lead to 56-49 with 17 seconds left on the clock.
Clemson would force two turnovers and make two threes to make it 56-55 with 3 seconds left. After Chris Mack called a timeout, Jordan Nwora threw away the ball and subsequently had to block a point-blank layup from Marcquise Reed to secure the win for Louisville.
Christen Cunningham led Louisville today with 18 points and 5 assists. Jordan Nwora added 11 points and 4 rebounds for the Cards. For Clemson, Marcquise Reed led the way with 13 points and 12 assists. They also got 15 points and 7 rebounds from Elijah Thomas.
This could have been a disaster for the Louisville Cardinals today. If there were any questions about how the team would recover from the Duke game, I’m not sure they could have bounced back from this one had Jordan Nwora not blocked that shot.
This was a Clemson team that was on the bubble and desperately needed a win to add to its resume. Louisville could have easily lost this game but came up with some big possessions when they needed it most. Luckily the Cards gave themselves a 7 point cushion with under a minute before nearly collapsing.
From here on out, every single team that Louisville has a lead on late in a game is going to pressure them. It’s no secret that this team struggles mightily to close out games in the final minutes. They avoided disaster today, but it’s up to Coach Mack and his team to find a way to improve in late game situations.
On the bright side, Louisville really needed to win today, and despite any drama, they did just that. The Cardinals now sit at 18-8 overall and 9-4 in the ACC. With 5 games remaining, this team has equaled its conference win total from all of last season.
🎥: Run back today's 56-55 win vs. Clemson ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Og0g720RKE
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 16, 2019
Up Next: Louisville travels up to Syracuse for a midweek matchup with the Orange Wednesday night at 7:00.
