Brandon Huntley-Hatfield poured in a career-high 29 points before fouling out in the final minute and Atlantic Coast Conference tail-ender Louisville stunned visiting Florida State 101-92 Saturday night in Louisville.
Huntley-Hatfield was 11-for-15 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line for the Cardinals (7-15, 2-9 ACC), who shot a season-high 54.4 percent from the field.
Ty-Laur Johnson recorded a double-double with career highs in points (27) and assists (11) to make up for the absence of injured Louisville point guard Skyy Clark. Curtis Williams added 19 points and Mike James 18 for the Cardinals, who moved into a tie with Notre Dame for the bottom two spots in the conference standings.
Jalen Warley matched his career high with 23 points to lead the Seminoles, who have lost three of their last four. Primo Spears pumped in 17 points, and Darin Green Jr., Jamir Watkins, and Cameron Corhen all added 14 points for the Seminoles (12-9, 6-4).
The Seminoles shot better than 50 percent in both periods and ended up at 51.6 for the game but they shot just 23-for-35 from the foul line. Louisville went 36-for-45 from the line.
Leading by 12 points at the break, the Cardinals saw the Seminoles creep to within 53-49 just five-plus minutes into the second half. But they responded with a 9-0 run to get back up by double digits, 62-49, with 13:18 left.
The Cardinals maintained a double-digit cushion for most of the next nine minutes before Warley sank two free throws to get the ‘Noles within 82-74 at the 4:02 mark.
The Seminoles revved the pressure and got within 91-84 on Green’s steal and layup with under two minutes left, but Johnson was fouled while making a layup and hit a free throw with 1:10 left that made it 94-84.
Louisville’s mistakes helped the Seminoles close to 96-91 but Williams and James hit five free throws in the final 38 seconds to secure the win for the Cardinals.
Louisville took advantage of some sloppy play by Florida State and hot shooting to take a 47-35 lead into the break. It was the first halftime lead for the Cardinals in ACC play and first since they were up on Pepperdine on Dec. 17.
–Field Level Media
