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Kenny Payne says Louisville 'picked a great night' to play well

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko02/20/23nickkosko59

Louisville broke another losing streak with an 83-73 win over Clemson Saturday. The Cardinals happened to do it on their home floor and head coach Kenny Payne said it was great timing.

The Cardinals held a 39-36 lead at halftime and ran away with it in the final 20 minutes to beat the 19-win Tigers by double-digits. It’s been a long, hard season for Payne and Louisville.

But, there was a sense of relief with a big home win for the first-year head coach and crew.

“I mean they couldn’t have picked a better night where the fan support was unbelievable,” Payne said postgame. “They got to do it in front of a championship team. The championship team is in the locker room with them right now celebrating. They picked a great night. Unbelievable night. Unbelievable fan support, unbelievable energy in the building.

“The way they play, the fight they play with, you know we’re gonna make mistakes, but we can make up for it with effort and energy.”

It was only win No. 4 on the season for Payne and Louisville. The team lost 15 games in a row prior to the upset over Clemson.

In their last meeting with the Tigers, the Cardinals fell 83-70.

“We played one of the top teams in the conference,” Payne said. “But it goes to show if you keep working hard, anything can happen. You pour your heart into this, dedicate yourself to understanding and growing every day, you can get a win. And you can get a win against the best. And that’s what we did. One of the better teams in the conference, well coached team, experienced team. (They are) very good offensively. But we fought, we fought. We played desperate defensively.

“There were stretches in that game where he had multiple three stops in a row. Everything that they shot was contested. We played well. I’m proud of the guys. It’s more about them than anything else. They deserve it.”

El Ellis had a banner night for Louisville. He finished the game with 28 points, five rebounds and one assist. JJ Traynor added 16 points, nine rebounds and one assist to help Louisville earn the upset victory.

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Louisville returns to the hardwood Monday at 7:00 p.m. for a road game against Duke.