LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Noah Waterman powered to the basket with 1.2 seconds left for a layup that lifted Louisville to a hard-fought 78-76 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals built a 10-point lead with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, but the Colonels stormed back and took the lead, 76-75 on a 3-pointer by George Kimble III with 1:22 left to play. Devontae Blanton missed a jumper that would have extended the lead and Louisville’s J’Vonne Hadley rebounded with eight seconds left. Waterman then drove the baseline and scored between a sea of arms surrounding the rim.
If nothing else, the game proved that Eastern Kentucky (6-7) can take a punch. Louisville (8-5) went on a 15-4 first-half run to take a 42-27 lead with 3:41 left but the Colonels rallied to cut the deficit to 46-37 at the break. Jordan Crawford’s jumper with 9:49 left gave the Colonels a 61-59 lead but Waterman’s 3 started a 12-0 run to put Louisville up 71-61 with more than six minutes left.
Terrence Edwards Jr. finished with 20 points to lead Louisville and Hadley scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds with three steals. Chucky Hepburn scored 14 points with six rebounds and seven assists and Waterman and Reyne Smith each scored 12 points. Louisville, which missed its first seven 3-point attempts to start the second half, finished 11 of 36 from deep.
Kimble led Eastern Kentucky with 24 points and Blanton added 22. Jackson Holt finished with 15 points.
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