77 - 65 Carlik Jones was once again masterful in victory.
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Carlik Jones (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Samuell Williamson (15 points, 11 rebounds) both produced double-doubles as Louisville topped Wake Forest, 77-65, to remain perfect in ACC play.
U of L is now off to a 4-0 conference start for the first time since winning its first eight Big East games back in 2008-09.
Louisville spent much of Wednesday evening teetering between seeming to be on the verge of blowing their hosts out, and seeming to be on the verge of letting their hosts inexplicably assume control. The Cards led by as many as 16 points in the second half before letting Wake Forest trim that lead all the way down to one.
At that point, the U of L defense tightened up, and Jones took control.
Six to midnight pic.twitter.com/283Evuymu1
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) January 14, 2021
Demon Deacon defenders struggled to keep Jones out of the lane all night, and the diminutive point guard consistently punished them at the rim for their sins. His 23-point effort marked a new season high.
Jones’ performance was especially key considering backcourt mate David Johnson scored just five points while spending most of the second half in foul trouble. Johnson still managed to dish out a game-high nine assists against just one turnover.
Louisville also received a stellar performance from freshman forward Dre Davis, who once again was the master of the baseline on both ends of the floor. Davis scored 15 points and did a terrific job defending whatever Wake Forest wing appeared to be on the verge of getting hot.
This wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination, but you got a monster effort from what appeared to be a totally revitalized Samuell Williamson, you had a supporting cast member step up dramatically in Davis, and you yet again had the heart of the team step up and take over when it mattered most.
Being 9-1 overall and being 4-0 in the league with three of those wins coming away from home feels pretty damn good. More to come.
