Five men’s basketball players named to All-ACC Academic team Wednesday, May 27 2020 

All-ACC Academic Team and APR and basketball and CoSIDA and darius perry and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and Grant Williams and jordan nwora and Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 7:20 pm

By Cole Emery–

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team ranked among the top 10 percent in academic success in the most recent Academic Progress Rate data released by the NCAA on May 12. 

“We are extremely proud of the academic success our basketball program has achieved in the recent years,” Head Coach Chris Mack said. “The APR speaks to speaks to the achievement and retention of our student-athletes we are fortunate to coach.”

This marks the seventh time in the last eight years the men’s basketball team has received recognition from the NCAA Academic Performance Program. The only other school in the Power Five conferences to achieve this recognition in seven of the past eight seasons is Stanford. 

Collectively, the men’s basketball team attained a 3.0 GPA in 22 of the last 24 semesters. During the 2020 spring semester, the team achieved a 3.160 team GPA. Among the 16 players on the team, 10 of the student-athletes finished the semester with a 3.0 GPA or better. Junior Jordan Nwora and freshman Samuell Williamson successfully finished this past semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA. The Cardinals strive for academic success in the classroom and feels it will help them on the basketball court.

“We wholeheartedly believe the academic success has a direct correlation to athletic success,” Mack said. “Pushing oneself to do the best in every area speaks to character. You can’t win big if you don’t display character. We are extremely proud to have five All-Academic selections, and will continue to push our student-athletes in every way.”

Along with team success, the Cardinals also earned major individual academic awards over the past year. Nwora was named to the 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America, known as coSIDA, All-American second team. He is the fourth Louisville player to ever receive this honor. Nwora also earned his third straight All-ACC Academic Team honor.

Louisville and Pittsburgh were the only teams in the ACC to have five student-athletes named to the All-ACC Academic Team including Nwora, Williamson, Lamar “Fresh” Kimble, Ryan McMahon and Darius Perry. 

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball routed by Seminoles Friday, Feb 28 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Chris Mack and david johnson and dwayne sutton and jordan nwora and No. 11 Louisville and No. 6 Florida State and Ryan McMahon and sports and Trent Forrest John McCarthy 1:43 pm

By John McCarthy —

The No. 11 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team lost 82-67 to the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles Feb. 24 at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

The Cardinals (24-6. 14-4) played in front of an unwelcoming crowd, as the arena was at 100% capacity. With this loss, Louisville now sits a game half back from Florida State in the current ACC standings.

The Cardinals were strong defensively in the first half and held the Seminoles (24-4, 14-3) at 15 points through the first ten minutes of the game.

Louisville’s old-school scoring style to get to the rim proved effective. The Cardinals produced only two-point buckets and free-throws through the first 13 minutes of the game until senior Ryan McMahon bottomed a three-pointer from the left wing to put the Cardinals up 24-17.

The Cardinals kept their space from Florida State on the scoreboard during the first half, matching every jumper the Seminoles hit from the field. Headed into the locker room for halftime, Louisville led Florida State 40-32.

Early in the second half, the Cardinals sat comfortably in the driver’s seat with a ten-point lead and looked to have the obvious momentum. Louisville soon went through a nine-minute scoring drought.

Seminoles senior Trent Forrest scored 14 of his 16 total points in the second half during Louisville’s stretch without a basket. Florida State ended up rallying back for the home victory due to the Cardinals scoring drought, defeating Louisville 82-67.

McMahon finished with 14 points. Junior Jordan Nwora had 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman David Johnson totaled 13 points, four points and four assists. Senior Dywane Sutton finished with eight points and five rebounds.

The Seminoles’ field goal percentage propelled them to victory, they shot 51% from the field and 31% from the three-point line. Head coach Chris Mack said, “We battled. I thought their pressure, although it might have not turned us over, kept us on our heels. We handled it the first 20 minutes. Just didn’t keep up the pace in the second half.”

Louisville will host Virginia Tech next at the KFC Yum! Center Mar. 1 at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Men’s basketball blow out the Tar Heels Sunday, Feb 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Cole Anthony and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and HS and jordan nwora and malik williams and roy williams and Ryan McMahon and sports Cole Emery 4:00 pm

The No. 11 Cardinals defeated North Carolina 72-55 Feb. 19 at the KFC Yum! Center.

The contest had a sloppy start as both teams accumulated seven turnovers collectively in the first four minutes of the game. 

Freshman David Johnson made the first basket of the game with an open three-pointer from the left wing.

After a three minute scoring drought for both teams, junior Jordan Nwora got the Cards (23-5, 14-3) back on track with a mid-range jumper. Johnson suffered three turnovers early in the game and senior Ryan McMahon, who drained his first shot from behind the three-point line, subbed him out. 

Freshman Cole Anthony for North Carolina (10-17, 3-13) displayed his ability to score inside with his first six points coming from inside the paint.

Graduate Fresh Kimble stole the ball and scored the transition layup to give the Cardinals a double digit lead with less than a minute left in the first half. 

The Cardinals took a 36-23 lead into halftime.

Nwora led the charge for the Cardinals with nine points and five rebounds. Junior Malik Williams scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and dished an assist. Johnson scored five points and assisted three baskets, but did not suffer another turnover for the rest of the half. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton scored the first basket of the second with a two-handed slam. 

Louisville noticeably slowed the game down to start the second half. They scored eight points in the first four and a half minutes without allowing the Tar Heels to score a single point.

Nwora achieved a double-double in points and rebounds early in the second half as the Cardinals started the half on a 14-3 run. 

The Cardinals went to the free-throw line more often in the second half after they shot only two free-throws in the first half and found themselves in the bonus with nine minutes left in the contest.

The Cardinals cruised to the victory and maintained a double digit lead the entire second half. 

Nwora finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Williams finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block. 

Regarding Louisville’s team, future Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams said after the game, “They have the one of the chances of those teams that could win the whole blessed thing.”

The Cards travel to Florida State in their next contest Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Photo by Jessica Abell // The Louisville Cardinal

 

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Men’s basketball squashes the Orange Sunday, Feb 23 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Buddy Boeheim and dwayne sutton and HS and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and Quincy Guerrier and Ryan McMahon and sports Cole Emery 3:56 pm

No. 11 Louisville defeated the Syracuse Orange 90-66 Feb. 19 at the KFC Yum! Center, putting their two-game losing streak behind them. 

The Cards immediately showed their dominance from behind the arc when senior Dwayne Sutton drained a three-pointer assisted by freshman David Johnson on the first play of the game. Senior Ryan McMahon matched the energy with a couple of three-pointers to a quick 11-5 lead to begin the game.

Freshman Quincy Guerrier helped keep Syracuse in the game early on with his ability to grab rebounds and make shots. 

McMahon finished the half with two more three-pointers which ended up being the last shots he made from the field. This help allowed the Cards to take a 41-34 lead into half-time. 

To begin the second half, junior Malik Williams fired on all cylinders, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in the first five minutes of play. This momentum allowed the Cards to develop a double digit lead.

The Orange found difficulty scoring in the second half. Two minutes of scoreless basketball from Syracuse allowed the Cards to go on a 13-0 run and brought their lead to 25 points with nine minutes left in the game.

The Cardinals ability to move the ball helped them tremendously in this game as they racked up 23 assists as a team, the most they accumulated for a game this year. Their ability to grab offensive rebounds greatly helped them as they had four more than Syracuse and outrebounded them 45-36 as a team.

Sophomore Buddy Boeheim had 15 points and Guerrier had 14 for Syracuse in their loss.

Williams matched his career high in rebounds with 13 in his first start of the year while scoring 14 points as well. Sutton helped the team with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Nwora only shot 5-18 but still put together 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists to end the game.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

 

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Louisville defeated Wake Forest 86-76 Saturday, Feb 15 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and jordan nwora and KFC Yum! Center and malik williams and Ryan McMahon and sports and steven enoch John McCarthy 12:04 pm

By John McCarthy —

The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team won against Wake Forest 86-76 in a tough match Feb. 5 at the KFC Yum! Center.

This extends the Cardinals’ winning streak to nine as they continue their ascent in the NCAA basketball rankings.

The Cardinals (20-3, 11-1) have accrued 16 wins in which they have defeated their opponent by 10 or more points this season.

The efficiency of the Demon Deacons (10-12, 3-9) stunned the Cardinals in the first half. Wake Forest busted out of the gates, shooting 60 percent from the field on 18 shots made. They also managed to out-rebound Louisville, heading into halftime plus five on the boards.

At one point, Wake Forest led the Cardinals by 16, but that would end up being their largest lead of the game. Louisville managed to keep the deficit within a dozen with their three-point shooting.

The Cardinals shot 50 percent  from three in the first half with nine three-pointers made.

Junior Jordan Nwora headed into the locker room with a dozen points and a pair of rebounds. Junior Malik Williams had eight points in the first half. Senior Ryan McMahon made two of Louisville’s nine first-half three-pointers.

The second half was all about the Cardinals’ monstrous comeback.

Without Louisville’s game-changing five minute run to open the second half, this game would have come down to the wire. With 14 minutes left to play, Nwora fooled a Wake Forest defender with a filthy crossover and followed up with an off-balance one-footed three-pointer.

Senior Dwayne Sutton carried the energy next for the Cardinals in the second half by grabbing a steal and taking it to the other end for a strong two-handed dunk.

Nwora finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and an assist. Sutton ended with a double-double, shooting for 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Seniors Steven Enoch and graduate Fresh Kimble came to life in the second half. Enoch collected two rebounds and shot for 11 points. Kimble dished four assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and scored 14 points. Collectively the Cardinals finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field.

Wake Forest had three players finishing with double-digit scoring, but the shooting of Louisville sought victory for the Cardinals.

Louisville will look to improve their winning streak to 17 when they host Virginia Feb. 8. The game will begin at 4 p.m. inside the KFC Yum! Center.

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Nwora propelled Cardinals past Golden Eagles Friday, Jan 31 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and darius perry and david johnson and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and jordan nwora and Louisville Cardinals and No. 6 and Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 11:15 am

By John McCarthy —

The No. 6 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team defeated the Boston College Golden Eagles 86-69 Jan. 29 at the Silvio Conte Forum. 

This is the sixth straight in-conference win for Louisville (18-3, 9-1). They have not lost a game since Jan. 4 when Florida State downed the Cardinals at home. Florida State and Duke both sit a game and a half back from Louisville in the ACC standings heading into February.

Junior Jordan Nwora chalked one up first for the Cardinals, hitting a mid-range jumper. Seconds later, Nwora sank another jump shot off an assist by graduate Fresh Kimble. Junior Darius Perry was next to mark the scoreboard with a contested layup in traffic. 

Freshman Jay Heath hit two three-pointers for Boston College (10-11, 4-6). Perry answered with a three-pointer of his own. After a 6-0 Boston College run beginning at the 16:34 mark, Louisville began to fire back. 

Perry bottomed another three-pointer to silence the Golden Eagles run. A minute later, Nwora sank a three-pointer off an assist by freshman David Johnson.

Johnson has been a much-needed spark of the Cardinals bench, providing vital assists to fuel Louisville’s offense. 

With 8:49 left in the first half, Nwora made a free-throw to tie the game 25-25. The Cardinals finished the half shooting 4-5 from deep, helping them take the lead at halftime 45-43.

In the second half, the seasoned dominance of Louisville took center stage. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton got the Cardinals started by converting both of his free-throws. A minute later, Nwora fought for two offensive rebounds in a single possession, on the second offensive rebound he tipped the ball in for two.

This momentum-swinging moment brought the Cardinals together. 

Senior Steven Enoch showed the same class of hustle soon after, grabbing an offensive board and tipping the ball in for two. 

At the 15:30 mark, Johnson stole the ball from the Boston College offense and made a timely pass to Nwora for the transition dunk. 

With five minutes left to play, freshman Samuell Williamson and Senior Ryan McMahon swished back to back three-pointers to solidify the lead for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals offense chemistry was too much for the Golden Eagles.

Nwora dazzled with 37 points and nine rebounds. Sutton had 10 points and three rebounds. Perry contributed 14 points and a pair of assists. Johnson dished out six assists and grabbed eight boards. 

The Cardinals will travel to North Carolina State Feb. 1 to play the Wolfpack at PNC Arena at 2 p.m. on ESPN. 

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No. 13 Cardinals hold off Fighting Irish in final moments Tuesday, Jan 14 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and jordan nwora and Ryan McMahon and sports Cole Emery 3:15 pm

By Cole Emery–

No. 13 Louisville survived their bout in South Bend, Ind. against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and won 67-64. 

A slow start for the Cardinals allowed seven early points from Notre Dame. Senior John Mooney, who leads to country in rebounds per game, aided the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame (10-6, 1-4) entered the game with the third fewest turnovers in the country, only allowing 10 a game, but Louisville caused four turnovers in the first three and a half minutes of the game. 

Senior Ryan McMahon came hot off the bench with consecutive contested layups to start a 19-3 run for the Cardinals. 

Louisville (13-3, 4-1) went into halftime up 36-24 against the Fighting Irish. Junior Jordan Nwora and McMahon each had 12 points. Mooney had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the first half for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame came storming into the second half and went on a 13-3 run led by sophomore Dane Goodwin who drained two three-pointers during the run. 

Even though the Cards started slow in the second half, they held onto their lead until Goodwin made another three pointer for Notre Dame with 7:08 left in the game. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton came through in the final minutes to recapture the lead twice with two three-pointers. “If Dwayne Sutton is going to make those threes, you just have to tip your hat to him. He’s a good player,” Mooney said after the game.

In the final 30 seconds of the game, Notre Dame had a chance to tie the game and force overtime after a Mooney steal. After a lot of offensive ball movement, there was a missed layup and an offensive rebound that led to a missed three-pointer as time expired.

“I loved the way we finished the game,” Coach Chris Mack said after the game. “We needed to figure out how to cut through adversity.”

Sutton had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the game, Nwora racked up 20 points and McMahon secured 17 points off the bench.

The Cards will face off against Pittsburgh, Jan. 14 at the Petersen Events Center in their next matchup.

Photo by // The Louisville Cardinal

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No. 13 Louisville bested Miami 74-58 Wednesday, Jan 8 2020 

ACC basketball and basketball and Chris Lykes and dwayne sutton and jordan nwora and Ryan McMahon and sports and steven enoch Cole Emery 12:16 am

By John McCarthy–

The Cardinals bested the Miami Hurricanes 74-58 at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 7.

Louisville is now 2-0 this season against the Hurricanes. 

Louisville was able to dissect Miami’s 2-3 zone early in the half for high percentage looks. Senior Steven Enoch broke through the gates with a two-handed slam to put the Cardinals on the board. 

Junior Chris Lykes fired back early at the Cardinals with the Hurricanes first five points, one of his shots being a 30-foot three-pointer. 

Junior Jordan Nwora and Senior Ryan McMahon each drained three-pointers to help Louisville (12-3, 3-1) spread the score. Junior Malik Williams flushed a monster alley-oop from McMahon with 11:57 left in the first forcing a Miami timeout. 

A block by Enoch led to an and-one floater by freshman Samuell Williamson on a Nwora assist giving the Cardinals a 16-point lead with 8:25 left in the first half, their largest lead. 

Nwora had 13 points in the first half for Louisville. Senior Dwayne Sutton racked up five points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. 

The Cardinals led the Hurricanes (9-5, 1-3) going into halftime 43-32.

Louisville was dominant in the second half. This allowed both Williams and Nwora to finish the game with double-doubles. 

Nwora got the Cardinals going early in the second half with a putback layup off an offensive rebound. Coach Mack said, “I spoke with Jordan, and told him he needs to do more than score.” Nwora finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. 

The Hurricanes began to fight back after the 17-minute mark. Senior DJ Vasiljevic drained a three-pointer for Miami to bring the score within ten points with 13:30 left to play. Despite two Cardinal blocks on a single possession for Miami, Chris Lykes received the three-point foul call and hit all three free-throws to bring the Hurricanes within five points with 9:39 left to play. 

Louisville lit it up in the last five minutes to separate themselves from the Hurricanes. 

McMahon swished a three-pointer off a Nwora assist to put the Cardinals up 11 with 3:10 left to play. 

Sutton ended the game with 9 points and 13 rebounds. Enoch grabbed 10 boards and contributed 12 points.

Louisville will face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 11 in their next matchup.

Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal

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Basketball takes down Bellarmine in exhibition game Monday, Nov 4 2019 

basketball and Bellarmine and dwayne sutton and Fresh Kimble and HS and jordan nwora and Knights and Ryan McMahon and Samuell Williamson and sports Gabriel Wiest 12:10 pm

By Ben Goldberger —

Though closer than most fans would prefer, the Louisville Cardinals beat the Bellarmine Knights 75-65 in an exhibition game Oct. 29.

Junior Jordan Nwora recorded 28 points. Freshman Dwayne Sutton had 18 points with 13 rebounds, and freshman Samuell Williamson had 17 points with nine rebounds.

Redshirt sophomore Ryan McMahon had a disappointing night, missing all shot attempts and going 0-5 from three point range and 0-6 in total shots. 

First Half

The Cards started off slowly, going multiple plays missing shots. Sutton rose to life in the first half, grabbing practically everything that came off the board. 

Louisville could not control their fouls, leading to the Knights getting an abundance of free-throw opportunities.

No players off of the bench could score, with the only points the whole game coming from graduate student Fresh Kimble. 

The Cards went into halftime trailing the Knights 35-33. 

Second Half

While it remained close through most of the second half, U of L took control of the game. They played smarter basketball with patient defense and physical offense. 

Nwora caught on fire late in the second half, draining threes and driving to the basket left and right. The whole team fed off of this burst of momentum going on a late run, capped off by a fast break slam dunk by Williamson that shook the stadium. 

Bellarmine could neither produce much on offense nor stop the hyped up Cards on defense once the momentum had landed in Louisville’s hands, allowing the Cards to glide to a win by 10 points. 

With two starters and one star rookie sidelined, the Cardinals were able to fight through adversity and win the game. While fans expected this to be a blowout, a win is a win.

The Cards travel to Miami to start off the season Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m. 

Photo by Anthony Riley // The Louisville Cardinal

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