Jordan Nwora shook off back-to-back rough outings to score 19 points, and No. 11 Louisville rolled to a much-needed 90-66 victory over visiting Syracuse on Wednesday night.
Dwayne Sutton scored 16, Malik Williams had 14 points with 13 rebounds and Ryan McMahon totaled 13 points for the Cardinals (22-5, 13-3 ACC), who went 10 of 24 from 3-point range after going 9 for 51 from distance in losing their previous two games to Georgia Tech and Clemson.
In the mix for the ACC regular-season crown, Louisville showed more spirit and energy than it did in both losses last week. The Cardinals shot 51.6 percent in the second half and led by as many 29 to get back on track.
Louisville scored the first five points of the game, led by 13 with 4:54 in the first half and forced eight Syracuse turnovers over the first 20 minutes. McMahon went 4 of 7 from three and had 12 points in the first half while Nwora, who returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench last weekend at Clemson, scored nine in the half -- two more than he did overall in the previous two contests.
Buddy Boeheim hit all three of his 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 15 points, while freshman Quincy Guerrrier had 14 with 12 boards for the Orange (14-12, 7-8), who have lost three in a row and five of the last six as their NCAA Tournament at-large hopes seem all but done. Syracuse shot 38.3 percent and 7 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Syracuse got within 38-34 late in the first half before McMahon hit a three to make it 41-34 at the break. Louisville then scored the first four points of the second half and kept the Orange at arms-length before pulling away. The Cardinals, who pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, pushed the lead to 69-44 with 9:39 left to play thanks to a 22-4 run that sealed the game.
Syracuse's Elijah Hughes, who entered averaging 18.9 points, finished with 10.
--Field Level Media
