Cardinals’ Comeback Effort Falls Just Short at Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. — January 30, 2024 – Zach Greenwell

Louisville men’s basketball charged back from a 24-point, second-half deficit to pull within four Tuesday night before falling 70-64 at Clemson.

The Cardinals (6-15, 1-9 ACC) trailed 55-31 with 12:56 to play, but got to within 66-62 after a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tre White with 28 seconds to go.

White powered much of Louisville’s rally with career highs of 29 points and 14 rebounds for his second career double-double.

White also helped the Cardinals dominate the boards for a 48-29 edge, including a 21-4 advantage on offensive rebounds. That led to a 17-2 mark on second-chance points.

Louisville led 14-11 in the first half after a pair of free throws from redshirt sophomore guard/forward Mike James, but Clemson scored eight of the next 10 points to pull in front.

A basket by White cut UofL’s deficit to 26-22 with just over two minutes left in the half.

The Tigers then scored the final eight points of the frame to stretch their halftime lead to 34-22. Louisville went 0-for-11 from 3-point range before the break.

Clemson opened the second half on an 8-1 run, and another 8-0 run later gave the Tigers their largest lead at 24.

Louisville outscored them 25-7 from there to cut it to 62-56 with 3:35 remaining.

Clemson answered with back-to-back buckets from PJ Hall, and they knocked down free throws in the final minute after the Cardinals twice cut it to four.

Hall had 25 points to pace Clemson (14-6, 4-5), which made 21 of 25 free throws.

Louisville is back home this weekend to host Florida State at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will air on the ACC Network.