SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Traveling to upstate New York for a road matchup with Syracuse, the Louisville men’s basketball program was unable get a winning streak going, falling 94-92 on Wednesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Cardinals (7-16, 2-10 ACC) entered the matchup having previous taken down Florida State last Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak.
With the loss to the Orange (15-8, 6-6 ACC), Louisville has now dropped 13 of their last 16 matchups since starting the season at 4-3.
Like their last time out against FSU, Louisville struggled immensely on the defensive end.
They allowed Syracuse to shoot a whopping 60.8 percent from the field, as well as 10-of-22 on three-point attempts.
It negated a fantastic showing by the Cardinals on the offensive end and on the backboards.
Louisville shot 53.8 percent from the field and 11-of-25 on threes, and pummeled the Orange around the rim with a 40-21 rebounding advantage.
Cuse also took advantage of the free throw line and Louisville’s propensity to turn the ball over.
SU shot 22-of-33 from the charity stripe to UofL’s 11-of-15, and had 23 points on 17 forced turnovers.
The matchup also featured a controversial ending. Trailing by just three in the final few seconds of the game, Skyy Clark hit a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to go.
Louisville got lost on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Syracuse’s Quadir Copeland had an open lane on the fast break.
Copeland was blocked from behind by UofL’s Kaleb Glenn, but officials called goaltending, and even upheld the ruling after review despite replays showing a clean block.
Clark was able to get an open look on the final possession for what would have been a game-winner three at the buzzer, but failed to connect.
