BOZICH | Louisville's misery grows in 61-60 loss to Appalachian State | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — At this point, the only thing that mattered for the University of Louisville men’s basketball team was winning a game.

Didn’t matter if it was ugly. Didn’t matter if it was a fluke. Didn’t matter if the Cards had to employ junk defenses or Kenny Payne and his assistant coaches had to do somersaults during pregame warmups or an exorcist was called in.

Didn’t matter.

Didn’t happen.

Somebody get Ripley on the line. Believe it or not, the Cards were served a third straight serving of one-point heartburn. Behind six with less than two minutes to play, Louisville rallied and appeared to beat Appalachian State on a driving, twisting lay-up at the buzzer by El Ellis.

The Cards' players celebrated wildly on the baseline, swarming Ellis with unbridled joy, blowing off the frustration that has built since the exhibition loss to Lenoir-Rhyne. Ellis pulled off his head band, pounded a table and roared in victory.

Quick, somebody paint the score and date on the commemorative game ball for Payne.

"A couple of the coaches said it was good and congratulations," said Payne, the Cards' first-year head coach.

Hold the applause. There was a problem:

Ellis was roughly a tenth of a second slow releasing the shot. A replay review showed the ball was on his fingertips as the red lights on the backboard illuminated.

No goal.

No victory.

App State 61, Louisville 60.

"I hope they live and learn," Payne said. "I know they are really torn up in that locker room."

More pain for Payne and Company. One remains the loneliest number for the Cardinals. The NCAA database only goes back to the 1980-81 season but Louisville is the only team to start a season with back-to-back-to-back one-point losses over that 42-year period.

"We thought we had the game but we just couldn't do anything about it," U of L guard Hercy Miller said. "One thing we talked about in the locker room is that we have to work hard and work on situations like this is practice so we don't have to go through this any more."

The Cardinals plunged to 0-3 by a combined margin of three points. Ellis led Louisville with 29 points. On a night when only six Cardinals scored, forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was the only other guy in double figures. He scored 12.

After losing to Bellarmine by 1 while missing two shots in the final seconds and losing to Wright State by one on a the buzzer-beater that counted, it was more evidence of the 3 1/2 months of turbulence ahead for Payne as he tries to teach this group what is required to win. It will require a lot of teaching -- and learning by players and coaches.

The Cards never led in a game against a team ranked No. 194 in Ken Pomeroy's computer power formula. App State did not head back on its bus to Boone, N.C., with a fluke victory and a guarantee check. The team that deserved the victory got the victory.

"I want to earn it (the Cards' first win)," Payne said. "I really do. I want them to earn it. I want them to walk out of the gym ... and I want to feel that the other team knows this is a really good team."

Considering Appalachian State needed overtime to defeat North Carolina Central in its opener, the struggle is genuine and only beginning for this group. The Cards’ next seven opponents will all be more talented than the teams that have beaten Louisville in its first three games.

When you start 0-3 against teams you figured to beat, there isn't one issue. There are a string of issues.

In this one, it was a plodding start. It was getting nothing (as in no points, no assists and no rebounds in 10 foul-plagued minutes) from Jae'Lyn Withers. It was committing 18 turnovers, while forcing only seven. It was getting outscored in the paint, 34-18, by a smaller team.

"They came out initially in the first half and they looked like they were Louisville and we were App State," Payne said. "Like we were playing in their arena. It cannot happen. There has to be some pride, some toughness about being at home, them coming out and fighting to get wins. That is what this program was built on."

It was not defending with an edge until the deep into the second half. It was missing the first free throw in a bonus situation twice in the final 4:08. It was hesitating too long before fouling App State on the visitors' final possession.

And it was Ellis not attacking the rim quick enough for the final shot.

Good teams can overcome most of those mistakes. Louisville is not a good team. Louisville is a struggling team with misplaced confidence that is still learning how hard Payne expects them to practice and play.

The first half was a mess. Louisville fell behind by 10 points in the first six minutes and later trailed by 16. They missed 11 of their first 13 shots. They allowed App State to make 8 of their first 11. They trailed by 13 (38-25) at halftime.

"We can't keep letting teams punch us in the mouth once the game starts and once we all step on the floor," said Huntley-Hatfield. "Then we get down and in the second half we're trying to claw our way back."

The Cards depart for Hawaii on Friday. They’ll begin play in the Maui Invitational on Monday against unbeaten Arkansas, which is ranked 9th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

In their second game, the Cardinals will play either No. 10 Creighton or No. 23 Texas Tech. Their next home game will be against Maryland (3-0) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Nov. 29.

Brace yourself: An 0-10 start is not out of the question. Pomeroy has adjusted his projected season record for the Cards to 9-20.

"There's definitely a feeling where it's going to stick with us," Miller said. "It could be a good thing and could help us build on what we felt. We don't want to feel that no more."