Orange Downed by #18 Cards, 72-58

Wednesday, February 17

Louisville, KY

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

18-9,8-6

Louisville

20-6,9-4

Syracuse

LOUISVILLE

2/17/2016 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Despite leading for more than 17 minutes in the first half, Syracuse fell to No. 18 Louisville 72-58 on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Orange (18-9, 8-6) took control of the lead in the first half and held a 12-point lead at one point, but it was all about the Cardinals (20-6, 9-4) in the latter half. Louisville outscored Syracuse 44-31 in the second half, snapping a five-game winning streak for the Orange.

The Cardinals bench outscored the Syracuse bench 25-7, and the play under the basket proved to be problematic for the Orange, as Louisville outscored Syracuse 50-20 in points in the paint.

Grad student Trevor Cooney paced the Orange on the night, racking up a team-high 19 points including five 3-pointers. Grad student Michael Gbinije added 13 points while matching a team-high seven rebounds, and freshman Malachi Richardson added 10 points.

Freshman Tyler Lydon pulled down seven rebounds while finishing with six points on the evening.

The Orange jumped out to a 10-2 start, holding the Cardinals scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the game. A three by Cooney brought Syracuse its first double-digit lead of the game with just under 10 minutes left in the first half, 18-6.

Back-to-back 3-point buckets and a layup by Louisville cut the Syracuse lead down to four, 18-14, at the 6:37 mark. Another three from Cooney put the Orange back up 21-14, but the Cards went on a quick 5-0 run to make it a two-point game with just over four minutes left in the half, 21-19.

A jumper by Louisville's Matz Stockman brought the Cards its first lead of the game at the 23-22 mark with 2:45 left. The lead didn't last for long, however, as Cooney hit his third 3-point bucket of the half to create a 27-23 lead for the Orange with 1:55 left to play. A last second 3-point basket by the Cards captured a one-point lead for the home team heading into the locker rooms, 28-27.

After the two teams traded baskets to start the second half, a 6-0 run by the Cards brought a 38-32 lead four minutes into the half, prompting an Orange timeout. The home team continued to build the momentum after the timeout, creating its largest lead of the game at the time off of two treys by Damion Lee, 44-35.

The Cards proceeded on a 10-1 run to extend the lead to 15, 56-41, with 10:22 left to play in the game. Syracuse cut the Louisville lead down to 12 off of a dunk by DaJuan Coleman, but the Orange couldn't seem to hold the Cards down any further than that, as an 8-1 run thereafter brought the home team a 19-point lead with 3:56 left, 68-49.

A pair of free throws from Cooney and a layup by Gbinije with 19 seconds left would be the last chance the Orange would get, as the clock expired with Louisville holding a 72-58 advantage.

The Orange return home to take on Pittsburgh on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.