Cards Drop Heartbreaker at Syracuse, 94-92

Wednesday, February 7

Syracuse, NY

7 p.m.

University of Louisville

7-16,2-10ACC

Syracuse

15-8,6-6ACC

Louisville

Syracuse

February 07, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Box VIDEO: Kenny Payne Press Conference

By: Zach Greenwell

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Louisville men's basketball went back and forth with Syracuse on the road Wednesday night and tied the game with six seconds to go, but a goaltending call with 3.8 seconds left gave the Orange a 94-92 win.

In a game that featured 18 lead changes and 13 ties, sophomore guard Skyy Clark made a game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds left.

Syracuse quickly pitched the ball up the court, and Quadir Copeland's layup at the rim appeared to be blocked by UofL freshman forward Kaleb Glenn. However, the referees called goaltending and upheld the call after review. Clark's 3-point try at the buzzer missed the mark.

"First of all, I thought hats off to Syracuse," UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. "They played hard. They did a lot of things well, they attacked us, got the ball in the paint. One guy made up for the three-point shooting, he had eight, (Chris) Bell did. Overall, I thought we played hard enough and well enough to win. We made some mental errors at critical junctions, but I'm proud of the guys for their fight. A lot of guys played very well: Tre White, Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) for a stretch he played well, Skyy (Clark) played pretty well. I would love to have walked out of here with a win knowing that team was 10-1 at home, but we fell a little short."

The finish spoiled a game in which the Cardinals (7-16, 2-10) shot 54% from the field and outrebounded the Orange 40-21.

Clark led Louisville with 23 points and five assists off the bench in his return from a hip injury.

Junior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (19 points, 13 rebounds) and sophomore guard Tre White (17 points, 12 rebounds) both had double-doubles.

Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Mike James added 12 points, and freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson contributed nine points and six assists.

The first half was full of runs, as Louisville opened the game with a 9-2 burst, including three assists by Johnson.

Syracuse pulled in front 16-11 with 14-2 run, but the Cardinals countered with an 8-0 spurt powered by five points from James.

The Orange built their largest lead at 49-43 shortly before halftime. James scored the final bucket of the frame to cut Louisville's deficit to four.

Both teams shot 58% or better in the first half. Louisville had 11 assists on 18 made baskets in the first half, while five different players hit a 3-pointer.

The Cardinals reclaimed the lead at 57-55 with a basket by Huntley-Hatfield with 15:34 to go.

Their lead swelled to 79-73 with 5:54 to go on a steal and dunk by Clark, but Syracuse went back in front with an 8-0 run. The Orange had an 87-81 advantage at the 2:25 mark before Clark scored nine points in the final 90 seconds, including his 3-point heave that tied it at 92-all.

Chris Bell led Syracuse (15-8, 6-6) with a game-high 30 points. The Orange scored 23 points off Louisville's 17 turnovers.

The Cardinals return home to host Georgia Tech at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will air on ACC Network.