Seminoles win fourth-straight over Cardinals, 78-65

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WCTV) - The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 78-65, to garner their third-straight victory Monday night at the Yum! Center in Louisville.

FSU (8-2, 4-1) has now won four-straight over UofL (9-3, 4-2) and have won three straight against the Cardinals at the Yum! Center.

The Cardinals used a combined 32-17 run to pull within double-figures of the Seminoles in the second half, coming as close as eight points to the Noles after training by as many as 24. During the run, the Cards held FSU - who had shot over 50% from the floor and over from 40% three - to around 40% from the floor.

But, it wouldn’t last, as the Noles got several fast-break looks, including dagger dunks from Balsa Koprovica and Malik Osborne to end the run and send the Seminoles to a rather comfortable victory.

The Seminoles opened a gigantic early lead, starting the game on a 14-4 run backed by a barrage of threes. The Tribe shot 8-for-15 from beyond the arc in the first half, led by Raiquan Evans who drained three shots from downtown for the garnet and gold.

By the end of the first 20 minutes, seven ‘Noles had entered the scorebook, with six of them scoring five points or more.

Louisville did show some fight at the end of the first period: The ‘Cards closed the gap to 14 points, going on a 12-2 run to cut the halftime lead to 42-28 for the Noles.

The Cards’ run was led by David Johnson, who recorded nine points in the opening half of play.

As a team, FSU shot an even 50% from the floor for the game and 42.9% from three, holding the Cardinals to 4.39% from the floor and 25% from deep.

Five Seminoles logged double-figure scoring nights, led by Gray (17 points, eight rebounds) and joined by Wyatt Wilkes (13 points), Malik Osborne (12), Raiquan Evans (11) and Scottie Barnes (10), who returned to the floor after missing Saturday’s win against UNC.

The Noles return to the floor on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host the Clemson Tigers.

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