Louisville wastes early lead, holds off Eastern Kentucky

Noah Waterman's driving, twisting shot in the lane with 1.2 seconds left rescued Louisville from a home upset bid by Eastern Kentucky, escaping with a 78-76 home victory on Saturday.

The Cardinals (8-5) equaled their win total from the 2023-24 campaign.

Louisville claimed a 71-61 edge on a James Scott dunk with 6:17 remaining, but Eastern Kentucky (6-7) followed with a 12-1 run to claim the lead on Devontae Blanton's layup with 2:20 to play. The teams traded baskets until Waterman's shot in the final seconds provided the difference. Terrance Edwards Jr. made one of two free throws to pad the Cardinals' margin with 0.4 seconds to play.

Louisville grabbed a season-high 21 offensive rebounds in the win. The Cardinals were led by Edwards' 20-point performance on 6-for-12 shooting. J'Vonne Hadley dropped in 15 points and added 10 rebounds, four on the offensive end. Chucky Hepburn added 14 points despite six turnovers and guard Reyne Smith had 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Waterman contributed 12 points, none more significant than the game winner.

Eastern Kentucky's George Kimble III keyed the Colonels' rally with 24 points, with 17 coming in the second half. Blanton scored 22 points on 10-for-23 shooting. Guard Jackson Holt added 15 points, shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range.

The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout. Louisville stretched a first-half lead to as many as 15 points, in part by canning nine 3-point shots in the first 20 minutes, as opposed to just two in the second half.

The Cardinals led 46-37 at halftime and stretched their lead back to 13 before a 12-2 led by 3-pointers from Holt and Mayar Wol pulled the Colonels back into the game midway through the second half.

The Cardinals will take on North Carolina at home on Wednesday. Eastern Kentucky opens Atlantic Sun play at Central Arkansas on Thursday.

--Field Level Media