The Miami Hurricanes, coming off a 63-57 victory at home against Notre Dame that snap a 10-game losing streak, traveled to the KFC Yum! Center to face an 18-6 Louisville squad. However, Miami was unable to come up with the win and fell to the Cardinals 88-78, to drop to 5-18 on the season and 1-11 in the conference.
Despite the loss, standout performances from redshirt junior A.J. Staton-McCray and senior Matthew Cleveland kept the Hurricanes competitive throughout the contest. Staton-McCray pulled together the best performance of his Miami career, posting an efficient 22 points on 8-14 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Cleveland was able to extend his scoring streak with his fifth consecutive 20-point outing, ultimately finishing with 21 points on 9-18 shooting from the field.
Louisville shot an impressive 54.1 percent from the field in the first half to extend their lead by as much as 13, but Staton-McCray’s 16 first-half points helped to keep Miami in contention, cutting the deficit to eight at the break, 46-38. Cleveland also reached a milestone late in the first half, eclipsing the 1,500 career point mark with a driving layup.
After the break, Miami looked ready to make a comeback. They began the half with a 14-3 run, to trim the Cardinals’ lead to only three at 52-49 thanks to buckets from Staton-McCray and freshman Divine Ugochukwu. However, Louisville responded with a run of their own, scoring 14 points to Miami’s two to regain a commanding lead in the contest, 66-51 with 11:33 remaining.
The ‘Canes again cut the lead down to five points with six minutes to go in the game at 72-67, but ultimately were unable to lead at any point during the second half and fell short to the Cardinals. Louisville’s Reyne Smith and Terrence Edwards Jr. led the way for their squad, recording a combined 53 points and 15 assists, while knocking down nine total shots from beyond the arc. Louisville closed out the game strong, scoring 15 of the final 27 points to secure their 18th victory of the season, 88-78.
The Hurricanes will look to bounce back in a home game on Tuesday vs. the Syracuse Orange at the Watsco Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with the game being broadcasted on ACC Network.