LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville men’s basketball rode on the back of J’Vonne Hadley’s career-high 32-point game, leading to a 74-64 win over Clemson on Tuesday night.

“I want to give Clemson credit, they are a very good team,” said head coach Pat Kelsey. “They are very well coached. I have known Coach Brad Brownell for a long, long time. He is the longest-tenured coach in the ACC, if I am not mistaken. I just have so much respect for him. I am proud of our guys. Our three leading scorers go 4-for-33. We still score a point per possession to beat a very good team by 19 points. I think the big story should be J’Vonne Hadley. He was sensational. Somebody said 32 points is the most anyone has scored in the ACC so far this year. What is crazy is that is not even his calling card. He is a jack of all trades and in so many ways he was dominant tonight on the backboard and scoring the ball. When it comes to our defense, in our last three games, I think it is very, very important to mention the dominant defensive performance of Terrence Edwards in the last three games. I think it is so important to mention and makes sure that he gets praise for the job that he is doing guarding the best player on the other team night in and night out. His shooting numbers aren’t what they typically are, and as you know he is a very talented scorer. He has been sensational, just terrific on defense. We are fortunate to beat a very good team.”

Louisville moved quickly and took a lead of 12-6 just over six minutes into the game. Clemson didn’t blink and used a 17-5 run to flip the script and take a six-point lead of its own at 23-17 with 9:32 to go in the first half.

Fifth-year senior Hadley came up big with an offensive rebound that he turned into a second-chance 3. The Cards grabbed the rebound on the defensive end and Hadley drove down and scored on a layup, cutting the Tiger lead to 23-22.

The Cardinals took a brief lead after two Chucky Hepburn free throws, but Clemson used an 11-4 run to regain a lead of 34-28 with 3:13 remaining in the half.

A James Scott lob at 3:06 sparked a run of 14 straight points for the Cardinals. The run included seven straight points from Hadley, a 3-pointer from Reyne Smith and two more free throws from Hepburn.

Clemson scored the final point of the half with a free throw, but UofL entered halftime with a 42-35 lead due to the run.

The Cards pushed their lead as high as 12 points to start the second half, but the Tigers got hot by the 14-minute mark. Clemson hit three consecutive 3-pointers to diminish the Louisville lead to just two points at 56-54.

Freshman Khani Rooths made a 3 just before the shot clock expired to kick start a 9-0 Louisville run that led to an 11-point lead for the Cards with just 7:21 remaining in the game. Clemson would never get closer than nine from there on and only made four field goals in the final 6:28 of the night.

Louisville had it’s third-largest crowd of the season so far with 14,991 in attendance.

Hadley’s career-high 32 points are the most by a player in an ACC game so far this season. He made 10 of 12 from the floor with a perfect 3 for 3 clip from the arc. He also knocked down 9 of 11 free throws and added three assists, 10 rebounds for a double-double and a steal in his 36 minutes.

Scott joined in with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds on a perfect 5 for 5 shooting. He added two blocks, an assist and a steal.

Clemson’s Chase Hunter had 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal to fill the stat sheet for the Tigers.

The Cardinals next hit a two-game road trip beginning at Pitt on Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.