90 - 73 Despite a slow start, the Cards made Chris Mack’s ACC debut a positive one.
Jordan Nwora scored 20 points and Malik Williams added a career-high 19 as Louisville opened ACC play with a 90-73 win over visiting Miami Sunday evening.
The lopsided final score would shock anyone who saw just the game’s opening 10 minutes. Miami connected on five of its first six three-point attempts, racing out to a 19-9 lead that would eventually balloon to as many as 15 just after the midway point of the first half. Louisville then went on a 14-2 run spearheaded by Nwora’s lethal outside shooting.
It was all U of L in the second half, as a Miami team currently fielding just seven scholarship players simply didn’t have the stamina to keep pace.
The Cards seized control of the game via back-to-back three-pointers from Christen Cunningham, the second of which gave the home team a 53-50 advantage. Louisville would never trail again, moving the lead to double digits before the game hit the 10-minute mark.
In addition to the play of Nwora, Williams and Cunningham, Chris Mack’s team also got a monster effort from Ryan McMahon. Though he missed his first five three-point attempts, McMahon connected on three straight during U of L’s second half onslaught. He also dished out a career-high nine assists, leaving him one short of his first career double-double.
Despite the opening 10 minutes, this was an overwhelmingly encouraging performance and a terrific start to conference play.
