1/21/2017 football Edit

Cards fall 73-68 at No. 10 FSU

Howie Lindsey • CardinalSports

Publisher

Howie has been running CardinalSports.com since 2003. He's also the host of the morning drive radio show on 790 KRD, the state's most-powerful sports radio station.

Louisville came back from down 14-0, but was never able to take the lead during a 73-68 loss at No. 10 Florida State Saturday.

Louisville struggled shooting, missing 11 of 13 threes and shooting just 38 percent for the game. FSU didn't shoot well either, 37 percent, but the Seminoles out-scored Louisville 25-16 at the foul line.

FSU got 16 points from Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon and 15 from Terrence Mann. Louisville was led by 16 points from Tony Hicks and 13 from Mangok Mathiang.

The game could not have started worse for the Cardinals. Louisville couldn't hit a shot early as Florida State raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes.

The Cardinals cut the lead to 17-8 with 13:32 left, but the Seminoles pushed the lead back to 11 a possession later. A 13-4 UofL run was sparked by senior guard David Levitch. The Cardinals pulled to within 23-21, but that was the closest Louisville could get as FSU fended off UofL pushes the rest of the half.

FSU led 41-35 at the half despite not getting any points from three starters and only shooting 39 percent. FSU didn't shoot much better, but the 14-0 start helped cushion the poor shooting.

The Seminoles pushed their lead back to 11 points at 48-37, but Louisville wasn't finished yet. The Cardinals seemed to renew a focus on driving to the basket as they chipped away at FSU's lead. An 8-0 Louisville run cut the lead from 54-45 to one point, 54-53 at the 11 minute mark.

Louisville was down by three with the ball twice, but missed threes both times. Three free throws from Jonathan Isaac put FSU ahead 59-53 with 9:38 left. A pair of free throws by Louisville grad transfer guard Tony Hicks and a three by Levitch pulled Louisville to within one point, 59-58.

FSU responded, pushing back to another six point lead before Louisville cut the margin back to one point, 69-68 on a dunk by Johnson with 2:04 left. FSU's Terrence Mann missed a paid of free throws, but Louisville couldn't take the lead. Donovan Mitchell missed a jumper and FSU's Jonathan Isaac was fouled on the rebound. He hit two free throws to put FSU up 71-68.

Louisville missed its final five shots, including a free throw, as the Seminoles closed out the 73-68 win in the final minute.