Louisville fends off multiple comeback bids by North Carolina

Field Level Media|published: Wed 1st January, 21:02 2025

NCAA Basketball: North Carolina at Louisville

Jan 1, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Ian Jackson (11) grabs a rebound over Louisville Cardinals center Frank Anselem-Ibe (13) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Chucky Hepburn scored 26 points as host Louisville defeated North Carolina 83-70 in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Wednesday night.

The host Cardinals (9-5, 2-1 ACC) found themselves in a dogfight with the Tar Heels (8-6, 1-1). Louisville led for most of the contest and were ahead 51-40 less than five minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels tied the game once and were within one point on three occasions, before the Cardinals pulled away in the waning moments.

A three-point play by Ian Jackson trimmed Louisville's lead to 70-69 with 5:09 remaining. Both teams went scoreless over the next 2:10 before Hepburn sank three free throws. That started a 12-0 run for the Cardinals, who secured their third straight victory.

Louisville also surpassed its victory total from last season. That 8-24 campaign led to Kenny Payne's firing as coach, with Pat Kelsey hired from the College of Charleston. Kelsey brought with him an almost entirely new roster for this season, led by Hepburn, a senior point guard who transferred from Wisconsin.

Hepburn scored 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 of 14 free throws.

North Carolina led just once, 15-14, after Cade Tyson's 3-pointer with 10:15 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals responded with the next seven points. Louisville led by as many as eight before taking a 37-31 advantage into halftime.

The Tar Heels, who entered as the ACC's second-leading scoring team, shot just 32.4 percent in the first half and matched a season-low 31 points for a half.

Reyne Smith added 17 points for Louisville, which also got 11 from James Scott and 10 from J'Vonne Hadley. Scott contributed eight rebounds and two blocks as well.

Jackson led the Tar Heels with 23 points. His 3-pointer with 8:37 left in regulation tied the game at 61, but Smith answered with a trey 40 seconds later to reclaim the lead for Louisville.

RJ Davis, last year's ACC scoring champion, scored just 12 points and went 4-for-14 from the floor for North Carolina. Drake Powell finished with 14 points before fouling out with 4:17 left in the second half.

--Field Level Media

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