Cards Fall Just Short in 61-60 Loss to App State

Tuesday, November 15

LOUISVILLE, KY

6 p.m.

University of Louisville

0-3,0-0ACC

Appalachian State

3-0,0-0Sun Belt

App State

Louisville

November 15, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Kenny Payne Press Conference VIDEO: Hercy Miller Press Conference VIDEO: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Press Conference Photo Gallery

By: Zach Greenwell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville men's basketball team suffered its third straight one-point loss to open the season Tuesday, falling 61-60 to Appalachian State at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (0-3) trailed 57-45 with 7:01 remaining and stormed back with a 15-4 run to finish the game.

Senior guard El Ellis appeared to score the game-winning basket on a layup in traffic at the buzzer, but it was waved off after an official review.

"I thought in the second half we played hard and competed," Louisville head coach Kenny Payne said. "I see the one stat, we had 18 turnovers and they had 20 points off those 18 turnovers. That is the game. That is the game. The aggressor wins. They came out initially in the first half, they looked like they were Louisville and we were App State, like we were playing in their arena. It cannot happen. There has to be some pride, some toughness about being at home, them coming out and fighting to get wins. That is what this program is built on. The passion that it is to protect your home court, I guess we are learning that. I will take the blame for that.

"This place is special. This program is special. I need them to understand how special, and not with their words, but with the way they fight and the way they play with their togetherness."

Louisville is the first team since at least 1980 to lose its first three games of the season by one point each. Including last year's 51-50 season-ending loss to Virginia, the Cardinals are the first team since Stetson in 1981-82 to lose four consecutive one-point games.

Ellis tied his career high with 29 points for the second straight game, marking the first time that a Cardinal has scored 29-plus in consecutive games since Reece Gaines did it against TCU and Marquette on March 6-7, 2002.

App State (3-0) opened the game with a 15-5 run and led 38-25 at halftime.

Louisville chipped away at its deficit with a 7-0 burst in the second half, pulling within six at 44-38 after a pair of Ellis free throws.

The Mountaineers countered with six straight points, and a 3-pointer by CJ Huntley made it 57-45 with 7:01 to go.

They scored just four points the rest of the way, and Ellis and junior forward JJ Traynor sparked the Louisville comeback with back-to-back 3s.

Ellis scored the Cardinals' final seven points, his last on a layup with 24 seconds left that cut App State's lead to 61-60. On the final play that was waved off, the ball was in the senior's hand for just one-tenth of a second after the horn.

"We can't keep letting teams punch us in the mouth once the game starts and once we all step on the floor, and then we get down, and then in the second half we're trying to claw our way back," sophomore forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield said. "You see a lot of fight within our team at the end of the game, we have to bring that fight from the beginning, from tip-off. That's pretty much it. We all have to change, play as a team. We have to throw the first punch, so we don't have to keep digging ourselves out of these holes that we're putting ourselves in. But I think we're going to figure it out."

Huntley-Hatfield had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James added nine points, and sophomore guard Hercy Miller chipped in five points, six rebounds and two assists in a career-high 25 minutes.

"I'm a person brings a lot of energy and I tried to be a defensive stopper for anyone," Miller said. "That's the one thing I take pride in is defense. I feel like I can guard anyone one through five and I just want to be a player where I bring positivity and energy."

Donovan Gregory led App State with 16 points.

With their opening homestand now behind them, the Cardinals next hit the road to compete in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational next week in Hawaii. UofL will open the tournament against Arkansas at 5 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN2.