The Louisville men’s basketball team is officially off to its best conference start since joining the ACC. The Cards improved to 8-1 and 4-0 with a 77-65 win on the road at Wake Forest Wednesday night.
Highlights from the Cards 77-65 victory at Wake Forest.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/aWGIEFFqUT
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) January 14, 2021
Carlik Jones earned his second double-double of the season with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Samuell Williamson also recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points with 11 rebounds. Dre Davis added 15 points and 2 rebounds. Louisville shot 50.9 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three.
For Wake Forest, Daivien Williamson led the way with 19 points and 4 assists. Jalen Johnson, Jonah Antonio and Ody Oguama each scored 11 points. Louisville held the Demon Deacons to just 36.8 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from long range.
Louisville went scoreless for almost three minutes to start the game as Wake Forest built an early 7-2 lead before the first break. From there, the Cards outscored the Demon Deacons by 17 on their way to a 46-34 halftime lead. Wake came out hot after halftime, using an 18-7 run to cut the deficit to one point before the under-12 timeout. Carlik Jones and Dre Davis combined to score 19 of Louisville’s last 24 points en route to a 12-point win.
This was a game that got too close for comfort late in the second half. Louisville had its first real experience with foul trouble, losing Jae’Lyn Withers fouled out and played sparingly all game and David Johnson had four fouls with plenty of time left on the clock.
Carlik Jones further proved that this is his basketball team. He’s arguably the most polished scorer in the entire conference and just continues to get whatever he wants offensively. It is only a ten game sample, but Jones is on his way to having one of the best individual seasons we’ve seen from a Cardinal in recent memory.
This is a Wake Forest team that you would have liked to beat a bit more convincingly, but it was a pretty impressive performance by Louisville all things considered. With Withers and Johnson off the floor for extended periods, Samuell Williamson and Dre Davis each stepped up in a big way. This team is in need of some consistency outside of Jones and Johnson. Tonight was a major step in the right direction.
Up Next:
Louisville heads down south for a Saturday night matchup with Miami (FL) at 8:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
Coach Chris Mack
Carlik Jones
Sam Wlliamson
