Pepperdine Waves at Louisville Cardinals

Huntley-Hatfield's 20 points spark Louisville past Pepperdine 85-63

Losses to Virginia Tech and DePaul followed by an embarrassing, 75-63 loss to Arkansas State, the program's first double-digit loss at home to a team with a losing record since 1963, have sparked speculation about coach Kenny Payne's job security. Payne is 5-6 in his second season, 9-34 overall. The win Sunday gives Louisville one more win than a year ago. The Cardinals face ranked opponents in their next two games: No. 14 Kentucky, their arch-rival, at home on Thursday and at No. 22 Virginia on January 3.

Louisville got off to a fast start against the Waves. After Houston Mallette hit a jumper and a trey back-to-back to give Pepperdine a 5-2 lead, Mike James knocked down a three and Tre White dunked and scored twice at the basket to ignite a run that saw Louisville take a 39-25 lead at the break.

The Cardinals had the lead for all but the first two minutes of the contest and pushed it to as many as 30 points in the second half. Pepperdine got within single digits in the second half, cutting the deficit to 45-38 with 14:22 left, but the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run over a three-minute span and hit 13 of 16 shots over the final 13 minutes.

James finished with 19 points, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Curtis Williams hit 4 of 5 from distance to add 16 points as the team hit 9 of 16 from deep. The Cardinals held a 41-22 advantage on the boards and outscored the Waves in the paint, 41-22.

Michael Ajayi scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Pepperdine (5-8). Mallette finished with 11 points and Malik Moore added 10 points.

Pepperdine returns home to play host to William & Mary Thursday.

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• TV Channel: Pepperdine at Louisville 2021 College Basketball, week 6, is broadcasted on ACC Network.
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