Cards Beat ‘Cuse 77-62 to Wrap Up Home Schedule

Tuesday, March 3

LOUISVILLE, KY

9 p.m.

University of Louisville

21-9,10-7ACC

Syracuse

15-15,6-11ACC

Syracuse

Louisville

March 04, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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Trio of senior guards leads Louisville to triumphant final night at the KFC Yum! Center

By: CT Trodglen

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior guards Ryan Conwell, J'Vonne Hadley and Isaac McKneely combine for 58 points as the University of Louisville men's basketball team earned a 77-62 victory over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Syracuse, in the Cardinals' home finale inside the KFC Yum! Center.

Conwell led all scorers in the game with 23 points; he also tacked on seven rebounds to his effort. Hadley's 19 points were the second most in the game, he finished the game a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. McKneely rounded out the trio with 16 points, all five of his field goals coming from beyond the three-point line.

"It was good to get the win tonight, especially after two tough games on the road," said head coach Pat Kelsey. "I thought our guys responded well. They had a great approach in the last two days of practice. It was very much player led. All the way down the roster, those guys just took it amongst themselves. We really, really focused on us for the last two days. We knew we had a very talented team that we had to defend with a lot of weapons/ the focus was on us. It was great to see the way the guys prepared, practiced and the way they fought tonight. I thought on the defensive end, they just played nasty. They played gritty. They played tough. Their No. 11 (Naithan George) is one of the best pick-and-roll players in the league. I thought our fight and our coverage of the pick-and-roll was really good. Credit our kids. In fact, after practice, we usually go in after the last practice before a game and go in and show actions. We work on stuff and then go show them actions, like 50-60 clips. I just felt in my gut, that the hay was in the barn. I said, 'you guys practiced like champions and deserve victory. Get the crap out of here. We will send you the actions. You can watch it on your own.' It wasn't about that today; it was about our guys playing as a collective unit on both ends of the floor. I was proud of them."

Vangelis Zougris appeared in the starting lineup for the first time in his UofL career; the quartet that rounded out the starters for the Cards were Conwell, McKneely, Hadley and Adrian Wooley. It was a physical and defensive minded first four minutes as the contest was tied at 2-2 heading into the first media timeout of the game.

Trailing 8-7 with 13:26 left on the first half game clock, McKneely connected with a long-distance deep ball to put the Cardinals up 10-8. A pair of successful free throws by the Orange (15-15, 6-11 ACC) brought the score to dead even.

UofL (21-9, 10-7 ACC) spent the next two-plus minutes on an 11-0 run to break the game open, capped off by McKneely converting a four-point play to build Louisville's lead to 21-10. The Cards kept their momentum going as they went on an additional 10-0 run to build a 21-point advantage. The Cardinals took a 39-21 lead into the break.

Conwell and McKneely combined for all six of Louisville's three-pointers in the opening half with three apiece, while simultaneously being the Cards leading scorers in the period. Conwell's 11 points paced UofL's offensive effort, with McKneely closely behind with 10 of his own.

A back-and-forth second half ensued as each team traded baskets in the first 10 minutes of the period, with the Cardinals holding a 60-38 lead with 09:59 left in the game. Syracuse pulled the difference to within 13 points, thanks to rattling off a 9-0 run, forcing a UofL timeout.

Louisville built its cushion back up to 20 points, when Hadley connected from downtown with 2:14 left in the game, ending the Cards scoring for the night and delivering the dagger to Syracuse's comeback effort.

The Orange's leading scorer was Naithan George who put up 16 points on the night. Syracuse also were helped out by Donnie Freeman who recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds.

The Cards finished with a 37-35 advantage on the glass, with Wooley contributing a season-high seven boards to tie Conwell in the game for the Louisville lead. UofL also owned a 17-8 assist edge over 'Cuse. The Cardinals moves to 21-14 all-time against the Orange, with head coach Pat Kelsey moving to 2-0 in his coaching career.

Next up for UofL is a Saturday road trip to No. 22-ranked Miami, wrapping up the Cardinals regular season campaign. Tip is at 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU.