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David Johnson scored 19 points as No. 11 Louisville withstood a charge from third-ranked Duke and pulled out a 79-73 road victory Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The Cardinals (15-3, 6-1 ACC) saw all their 15-point first-half lead vanish before they turned it on again.

Duke trailed 73-70 and then had four consecutive possessions without scoring. Louisville’s Malik Williams made both ends of a one-and-one at the 16-second mark and then dunked off a turnover.

Johnson, a freshman guard who hadn’t played more than 20 minutes in any game after missing the first four games while recovering from a shoulder injury, made 7 of 8 first-half shots from the field.

Duke (15-3, 5-2) lost for the second time in a week after Tuesday night’s setback at Clemson marked the end to a nine-game winning streak.

Dwayne Sutton had 13 points, Williams finished with 12 and Steven Enoch added 10 points for Louisville, which won its fourth game in a row, the last three on the road.

Cassius Stanley’s 24 points and Matthew Hurt’s 18 points paced Duke. Teammates Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. each scored 12.

Both teams held No. 1 national rankings earlier in the season.

The Blue Devils, who hadn’t lost two games in a row since February 2018, committed 16 turnovers. Louisville reserves outscored Duke’s backups 39-5.

Duke began the second half on an 8-2 run, leading to a Louisville timeout. Carey, Duke’s scoring leader, picked up his fourth foul with 13:34 remaining.

The Blue Devils pulled even at 58-58 on three Hurt free throws at the 8:51 mark. The comeback was marked by a couple of highlight-type dunks from Stanley.

Louisville led 71-65 with less than four minutes left, but a pair of turnovers allowed Duke to score five quick points.

Duke absorbed some early blows, but Williams drained a 3-pointer in the final second of the first half for a 42-32 Louisville lead.

The Cardinals, who were 4-for-4 on 3-point launches in the first half, excelled despite only two first-half points from ACC scoring leader Jordan Nwora, who picked up two fouls in the first 15 minutes. Nwora ended up with six points.

Louisville broke down Duke’s defense and scored in transition for 19-6 and 25-10 leads.

–Field Level Media