In a disappointing turn of events, the University of Louisville men’s basketball team suffered a 75-63 loss to Arkansas State on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center. Head coach Kenny Payne expressed his frustration with the team’s performance, acknowledging that they had a solid game plan but failed to execute.
“We knew that, traditionally, their DNA is the three-point shot, and the other important piece is the driving of the basketball and offensive rebounding. I am disappointed and frustrated that we worked on this for a few days and got in the game and did not execute,” said Payne. “It falls on me, the staff, the players, all of us. Nobody is without blame and we all are talking about how we hold each other accountable more than we already do.”
Arkansas State took control of the game early on, leading by as much as seven points in the first half. However, Louisville managed to stage a comeback and went into halftime with a slim 31-29 lead.
Coming out of halftime, Arkansas State quickly regained the upper hand with an 8-3 run to take a four-point lead. Louisville tried to make a comeback but struggled to keep up with the Red Wolves, who went on a scoring spree to secure a comfortable 49-38 lead with 14:47 remaining in the game.
Despite the loss, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had an impressive performance for Louisville, scoring a career-high 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also excelled at the free throw line, making 12 of his 14 attempts. Mike James and Tre White also contributed with 10 points each for the Cardinals.
Arkansas State had three players reach double-digit scoring numbers, with Caleb Fields leading the way with 20 points. Freddy Hicks and Izaiyah Nelson also had solid performances, scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. Nelson was especially effective, making all seven of his field goal attempts and contributing eight rebounds.
Overall, it was a disappointing night for the Louisville Cardinals as they struggled to execute their game plan and ultimately fell to Arkansas State. The team will need to regroup and address their shortcomings in order to bounce back in future games.
