The University of Louisville men’s basketball team led by as much as 10 in the second half Saturday against Wright State, but the Raiders rallied and got a game-winning jump shot at the buzzer from Trey Calvin to hand the Cardinals a 73-72 loss at the KFC Yum! Center.
“I know I am sounding like a broken record but when you see young people’s emotions go high and low and they are supposed to be the leaders, it is hard,” Louisville head coach Kenny Payne said. “I have told this team from the day I walked in here all I really care about is that you look confident, that you play with energy and you learn to play with each other. That is all I care about. I don’t care if you miss every shot. I know you are going to make mistakes. Do it with confidence. Don’t let your opponent feel like they belong. You are Louisville. You understand what that means. Well, what is happening is that I have guys who don’t know what that means. They don’t understand and can’t get out of themselves. The game is a roller coaster emotionally for a lot of the guys. You can’t win that way. You can’t win.”
Senior guard El Ellis had a career-high 29 points, including UofL’s final 13 of the game, with his final bucket giving the Cardinals a 72-67 advantage with 1:33 left.
Wright State (1-1) scored the game’s final six points, including a dunk by Brandon Noel with 12 seconds left to pull within one.
After a turnover on a jump ball by Louisville, Calvin buried a jumper over two Cardinal defenders for the game-winner.
UofL (0-2) has now lost its two opening games by one point each.
“I’d say right now, we’re working on having a whole 40 minutes of confidence, and not letting it waver through adversity,” redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers said. “I would say there were stretches today where it kind of wavered, but I would say towards the end of the game, that wasn’t really the case. It was more so just a tough shot that was made.”
The Cardinals led 37-34 at halftime and eventually used a 17-4 run to take a 46-36 lead with 16:35 remaining on back-to-back baskets by sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.
Wright State later used a 7-0 spurt to reclaim the lead at 65-64 on a bucket by Calvin with 3:46 left.
Ellis knocked down consecutive 3s to put Louisville back in front before the Raiders’ final surge.
Ellis made 12 of 20 shots from the field for the most points by a Cardinal since Jordan Nwora’s 37 against Boston College on Jan. 29, 2020.
“Yeah, I just felt really confident throughout the whole game,” Ellis said. “I was getting to my spots. I had eight turnovers, so even though I had 29 points, it doesn’t matter. I’m the point guard, I’m the leader of this team, so it doesn’t matter if I feel like I’m getting fouled. I can’t have eight turnovers. So, scoring 29 points doesn’t matter.”
Withers had his fourth career double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five steals. Huntley-Hatfield also found double figures with 10 points and six boards.
Calvin, fresh off a 37-point performance in Wright State’s double overtime loss to Davidson to open the season, had 17 points to pace the Raiders.
Louisville completes its three-game homestand to open the season against Appalachian State at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will air on ACC Network.
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