LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville made North Carolina flinch.
There’s no category for flinching in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Coming close is only something a team talks about when it fails to win a game — and the Cardinals failed to beat the Tar Heels Wednesday night at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, losing 86-70.
"I thought we played hard," U of L coach Kenny Payne said. "I thought we fought. But there are no good efforts and more victories with this program."
Never mind R.J. Davis, North Carolina’s all-American guard. Of course the player Louisville had surprising issues with was their former teammate Jae’Lyn Withers, who punished the Cards with his first double-double as a Tar Heel, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds.
"He hurt us tonight," Payne said.
But … on a night when Payne’s team fell behind by 20 points with about a minute to play in the first half, the Cardinals had North Carolina scrambling for answers in the second half.
How?
The Cards opened the second half by making 9 of their first 10 shots, getting points from six players. They wiped a 46-26 North Carolina lead down to 55-50 on a three-point shot by Mike James who was playing on a tender ankle.
But that’s where most of the drama ended. North Carolina flinched. North Carolina did not fold. The Tar Heels scored 8 of the game’s next 10 points.
"We had them on their heels and then we made mistakes," Payne said.
Guess who was in the middle of Carolina’s revival?
Withers, the guy who left U of L for UNC after last season. He made his first five shots. Three layups. A dunk. And a ridiculous contested bank shot over a pair of defenders that ended with Withers drawing a foul.
In the first half, Withers made a dazzling one-hand interception of a difficult pass that Louisville guard Skyy Clark tried to make to Kaleb Glenn. Withers intercepted the ball near the Louisville foul line and flashed downcourt.
Needing only seven dribbles, Withers blew past Clark and then U of L forward Tre White appeared to step out of the way as Withers raced to the rim for a layup.
He finished with 15 points, a season high in a year when Withers had only scored in double figures twice —11 points against Northern Iowa and 10 against Syracuse.
"They are a team that could easily win a championship this year," Payne said. "That team is a special team with unselfish guys."
The Cards are 6-11, 1-5 in the ACC. Clark had 16 points while Brandon Huntley-Hatfield scored 15. They lost this one in the first 8 1/2 minutes. North Carolina made 11 of its first 15 shots, surging to a 26-11 lead. In their last three defeats, U of L has allowed 83 points or more.
Louisville reverted to too much one-on-one play, managing only a single assist with nine turnovers in the first half.
"We did some things well but overall in the first half they separated from us," Payne said.Â
"That's what great teams do. They wait for you to make mistakes and then they burn you."
Louisville will remain in North Carolina for three more days. The Cards will make the 75-mile bus ride from Chapel Hill to Winston-Salem. They will play at Wake Forest Saturday at noon before returning home to play Duke next Tuesday night.
Wake Forest is 12-5 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons are 10-0 at home but lost at North Carolina State, 83-76, on Tuesday.
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