Late Comeback by James, Cards Falls Short Against Wake Forest

Saturday, January 7

LOUISVILLE, KY

3 p.m.

University of Louisville

2-14,0-5ACC

Wake Forest

11-5,3-2ACC

Wake Forest

Louisville

Late Comeback by James, Cards Falls Short Against Wake Forest

January 07, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Kenny Payne Press Conference VIDEO: JJ Traynor/Mike James Press Conference Photo Gallery

By: Zach Greenwell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville men's basketball stormed back from a 22-point deficit to within one possession Saturday, before settling for an 80-72 loss to Wake Forest at the KFC Yum! Center.

"Moral victories? I don't want them," UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. "I want us to play better the whole game. I just told the guys, 'Don't find new ways to lose' – fight.' I don't care if they may have more talent than us. Fight. Fight every second you are out on the floor."

The Cardinals (2-14, 0-5 ACC) trailed by as much as 22 and still by 18 at 62-44 with 7:21 to play when their comeback surge began.

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Mike James had 14 points during that run, which started with an 8-0 spurt. James' third 3-pointer in less than four minutes trimmed Wake Forest's lead to 70-67 with 2:40 to go.

The Demon Deacons (11-5, 3-2) answered with a 3 by Damari Monsanto and two free throws from Tyree Appleby to keep the Cardinals at bay.

James finished with a game-high 24 points, which were the most of his career and tied for the second-most by an ACC freshman this season. He also had a career-high eight rebounds and knocked down a career-best 5 of 9 3-pointers.

"I've just been staying in the gym and believing in myself and staying confident," James said. "That's all I can say. Coach Payne tells me to stay confident before every single game. Before every single tip, he tells me to play with my heart and be confident. I feel like in the last couple of games, I've been doing that and I've just got to keep it up and keep living in the gym."

Senior guard El Ellis had 20 points and eight assists, and redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers added 11 points and five rebounds. Junior forward JJ Traynor contributed seven points and seven boards off the bench.

Louisville outrebounded Wake Forest 36-31 with 15 offensive boards and 16 second-chance points, but the Demon Deacons made 13 3s and scored 21 points off UofL's 14 turnovers. The Cardinals had one assist and 10 turnovers in the first half, then improved to eight assists and just four turnovers after the break.

Cameron Hildreth paced Wake Forest with 19 points and eight rebounds.

The Cardinals brought the fans to life in the final minutes with their furious run, on the same day the program honored the 40^th anniversary of its 1983 Final Four run.

"We appreciate all of the fans," Traynor said. "We're not having a good year and it's still getting loud in there. And everybody's still showing support. The former players, they build us up and they're always around. I feel like we can go to them when we need to talk to them. Just having that relationship is going to help us."

Louisville returns to the road Wednesday for a 9 p.m. ET visit to Clemson. The game will air on Regional Sports Networks.