LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Louisville men’s basketball fell to No. 5 Kentucky 93-85 in its first true road game of the season.
“Yeah, it is a great great rivalry,” said head coach Pat Kelsey. “I said it the other day in a press conference. Not only in collegiate basketball but it is one of the really cool rivals in all of American sports. We have to do our part and win some to continue to make that a rivalry. Obviously, we came up short tonight but it's hard to truly describe I think at Kentucky but especially our city of Louisville and here in Lexington how much this rivalry means. Houses divided but man I mean they reminded me early and often and every single day. Every time I go get gas, I go get something to eat in the community, you know "Hey coach how are you doing are you going to beat Kentucky this year?" So I get it I get it and what a great thing it was it was awesome. You have to sometimes get above the trees and have a little bit of perspective of what you are doing and where you are at. I try to stay present every single day keep blinders on to work and help our team to do the best they can be.”
The Wildcats scored eight unanswered points in under 47 seconds to take a 14-5 lead, causing Louisville to call a timeout. Out of the TO, Louisville scored the first two buckets to cut the deficit to five, but Kentucky quickly responded with five points to re-extend its advantage.
The Cardinals nailed four 3-pointers during a 12-4 run to make the Kentucky lead just 32-28 with just under seven minutes to halftime. Kentucky kept Louisville at arm’s length the rest of the half.
Kentucky went 5 for 5 to start the game and then made seven in a row later, combining to start the game 12 of 15. The Wildcats ended the first half 16 of 23, shooting 69.6% from the floor.
Out of the break, the Cardinals cut the deficit to four multiple times, and used a 7-0 run between 15:40 and 14:35 to cut the UK lead to 59-56.
Kentucky responded with its own 7-0 run beginning at 12:19 to extend its lead back to 10 points. While Louisville continued to fight, both teams exchanged buckets the rest of the way and the Cardinals were never able to get over the hump.
The Cardinals, limited by injuries and foul trouble, were led in scoring by Chucky Hepburn who scored 26 on 9 of 18 shooting, netting four from the three-point line. He added five assists, five boards and one steal. Terrence Edwards Jr. joined him as a 20-point scorer with 23 total. He went 5 of 7 from the arc in his 30 minutes.
In his return to the court, Kentucky’s Lamont Butler went a perfect 10 for 10 from the floor, including a 6 for 6 from the arc. He scored 33 points, added three rebounds and dished out six assists.
Louisville returns to conference play for a single game next Saturday, Dec. 21 at Florida State. The game is at 2 p.m. ET on The CW.
