LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Louisville men’s basketball team answered a lengthy string of questions while roaring into the AP Top 25 and second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference as the Cards won 10 straight games over the last seven weeks.

But several questions had not been asked of Pat Kelsey’s surging team in awhile:

What would happen when the Reyne Smith's three-point shots were not falling, when James Scott could not separate from defenders for lob dunks or Chucky Hepburn could not dominate every inch of the court?

What would happen when the Cards faced some legitimate game pressure late in the second half?

Ahead by 13 points in the first half and 11 at halftime, Louisville came from ahead and lost to Georgia Tech, 77-70, Saturday afternoon in front of 6,147, including several thousand Cardinals' fans, at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

"They were the better team tonight," Kelsey said. "They played like a desperate team and deserved to win today. Overall they were more of the aggressor."

After making half of their 16 three-point shots in the first half, Cards went 1 for 9 from the distance in the second half while also missing eight free throws in the final 20 minutes.

The Cards could not make free throws. Normally, they make about 74%. Against Tech Louisville went 11 of 19, only 58%. They stopped forcing turnovers. They got beat to loose balls. The defense wasn't there. That’s how they got beat for the first time since they fell at Kentucky on Dec. 14.

"We left some points out there on the floor," Kelsey said. 

Terrance Edwards Jr. led Louisville with 22 points while Hepburn had 17. But Smith managed only one basket for 3 points, missing 5 of his 6 shots from distance. Scott had a lob dunk off a pass from Hepburn in the first 3 1/2 minutes and did not score again.

Coached by former NBA guard Damon Stoudamire, the lowly Yellow Jackets had beaten only one team ranked in the Top 150 all season while starting 3-7 in the ACC and 9-12 overall. Now they’ve beaten a pair, outscoring Louisville in the second half, 50-32.

Georgia Tech started with six great minutes. The Yellow Jackets surged to a 16-12 lead. They didn’t look like a team that had just lost to four ACC teams the Cardinals had already beaten.

But over the next 9 minutes and 20 seconds, Tech missed 13 shots, committed five turnovers, missed two free throws and scored two points. The Cards pushed ahead to a 31-18 lead, their largest. This looked like a replay of what the Cards did to SMU last week. 

And then it didn't.

The lead was still 38-27 at halftime. But Tech hit back to back to back threes in the first three minutes of the second half, inspiring Pat Kelsey call a timeout to try to stop Tech’s momentum.

It didn’t work.

Louisville had eight turnovers and only three assists (all by Hepburn) in the second half. The defensive gusto disappeared. Tech made 18 of 32 shots in the second half, including 6 of 11 threes. Scott managed one shot in the second half and Smith got open for two. None of the three went in.

"They did a tremendous amount of switching," Kelsey said. "That's not something they normally do. We didn't respond the right way."

During its winning streak, Louisville was consistently dominant from the three-point line. That dominance was not there in the second half.

Kelsey said he did not believe the Cards' performance was affected the increased attention and acclaim the team has earned during its winning streak.

"I don't think it had anything to do with us having a target on our backs," Kelsey said. 

The Cards have four days to regroup before playing at Boston College Wednesday night. They’ll return home to play Miami, a team winless in ACC play, next Saturday.

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