Cards Falter in Second Half of 89-77 Loss at Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — February 13, 2024 – Zach Greenwell

Louisville men’s basketball led by eight at halftime Tuesday night at Boston College, but a 20-1 run in the second half by BC doomed the Cardinals in an 89-77 road loss.

Louisville (8-17, 3-11 ACC) held a 47-39 advantage at the break, but that dwindled to three within the first minute of the second half. The Eagles’ 20-1 run spanned five minutes and put the Cards in a 68-55 hole with 10:31 remaining.

“In the first half, we put them on their heels,” UofL head coach Kenny Payne said. “In the second half, they came out and punched us in the face and we submitted to it. We didn’t make the adjustments and didn’t fight back, obvious by them beating us by 20 in the second half.”

The Cardinals shot 51% in the first half with 10 assists.

A 9-0 run gave them a 24-16 lead at the 10:56 mark on a three-point play by freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson.

Boston College tied the game at 32-all, but Louisville countered with a 12-2 burst capped with back-to-back 3s from redshirt sophomore guard/forward Mike James and freshman guard/forward Curtis Williams. The last made it 44-34 with 1:31 left.

The Eagles cut their deficit to five, but junior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield finished the half with a three-point play to make it 47-39.

After Boston College (14-10, 5-8) took its largest lead at 74-59 with 9:01 remaining, Louisville managed to get it back to six with 5:18 to play and the ball, but turned it over as BC hit a 3 on the other end to stymie the threat.

The Eagles had five players in double figures, led by Claudell Harris Jr.’s 20. They shot 57% for the game and made 11 of 23 3-pointers.

Huntley-Hatfield and White each had 21 points to pace Louisville and combined for 16 rebounds. James added 14 points, and Johnosn finished with 12 points, seven assists and four steals.

Louisville stays on the road for a trip to Pitt at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will air on ACC Network.