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Kenny Payne reveals message to Louisville late in Clemson win

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•02/21/23•

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(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

Kenny Payne revealed the message he gave to his Louisville team as the Cardinals broke a 15-game losing streak and beat Clemson over the weekend.

In their last meeting with the Tigers, the Cardinals fell 83-70. 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 the coach revealed how his team battled throughout the contest.

“Basically the message was if you want to win this game, you will do it on the defensive and you’ll take quality shots,” Payne said postgame. “You noticed that the refs are calling a lot of fouls. If you attack the basket strong, you’ll get a foul. They will foul you because they called it the same way. On the other hand, we have an advantage, we have a lead, don’t let it end up being a passive jump shot. Make it be something toward the rim.

“And that’s what we did. The flow was spread and we got great drives. We missed some that we should have made but the other thing is we got fouled on some and we made free throws.”

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.”

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.

Louisville could not muster a winning streak Monday though. The Cardinals fell 79-62 on the road against Duke.

The Cardinals were down by nine at halftime and could not recover.

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Louisville returns to the floor Saturday on the road against Georgia Tech at 2:00 p.m. ET.