Vangelis Zougris and Ryan Conwell lead late surge over SMU

With less than 1:30 remaining in the game and down 57-58, the Cardinals looked to their senior guard Ryan Conwell to get them across the finish line, and he responded in a major way.

Conwell proceeded to score five straight points in crunch time to lead the Cardinals to a 62-58 victory. He hit a step-back three to give the Cardinals a lead, then isolated SMU big Jaden Toombs and drove past him for a layup afterwards, pushing the Cardinals out in front.

WATCH: Louisville’s Pat Kelsey speaks after ACC Tournament win over SMU

Ryan Conwell responds

Throughout the majority of the game, especially in the first half, the All-ACC guard struggled in a major way. He had issues taking care of the ball and struggled from distance, shooting 1-for-6 from deep and 1-for-8 from the field overall in the first half.

For the game, Conwell finished with 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting, including 2-for-9 from deep and five turnovers in total.

However, his finishing stat line doesn’t tell the story, as his resilience shone despite the struggles. As mentioned previously, he made numerous clutch shots towards the end of the game when they needed his shotmaking. He didn’t let the previous misses or turnovers faze him and guided his team to victory when its offense had struggled all game.

“We have the utmost confidence in him, him being a senior and a leader on the team. He works on those shots every day, so I trust him,” said Adrian Wooley on the confidence he has in Conwell.

Additionally, Conwell had 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting in the second half, including knocking down a pair of triples.

In the game, Louisville’s offense shot less than 40 percent from the field (21-53) and made only 23.1 percent of its three-point attempts (6-26). This was a grind-it-out type of victory for the Cardinals, and they did just enough to hang on in crunch time.

Vangelis Zougris provides a major spark

With Louisville’s frontcourt failing to produce in this game outside of J’Vonne Hadley, the Cardinals were desperately looking for answers. In the game, Sananda Fru, Aly Khalifa, and Khani Rooths combined for just four points, four rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. There was a noticeable lack of interior scoring, rebounding, and rim-protection from these frontcourt options.

However, one of the other frontcourt options emerged late, and it was Vangelis Zougris. The Greek big went on a 6-0 scoring run to put the Cardinals up 52-50 with 5:38 remaining. He finished on the interior with physicality, catching the ball and finishing through contact. The junior also flashed some post-scoring ability in an iso against one of SMU’s bigs.

Not only was this scoring run felt, but so was his passion and energy. He was engaged throughout his minutes, blocking out to retrieve balls on the defensive glass, sealing driving lanes for teammates to get to the rim, and setting screens. He lifted the team’s energy out there, especially in times of need, which helped Louisville respond and hang on in the end.

“Early in the season, he was buried on the bench and was getting no minutes. He had some tough times. Coming over from Greece, it wasn’t going the way he wanted to, basketball-wise, struggled adjusting, and his role wasn’t something that he envisioned. He never lost hope, he never lost faith,” said Pat Kelsey after the clutch performance from Zougris.

“Hardest worker I’ve ever seen, and he deserves everything he’s getting right now. He’s going to continue to help us win and continue to bring energy,” said Isaac McKneely, also commenting on Zougris and his performance/journey.

For the game, Zougris finished with seven points, four rebounds, and one assist, while also having the highest plus-minus on the team (+15).

The Cardinals will now turn their attention to tomorrow’s contest against Miami, which begins at 2:30 pm ET. This will be the second game against Miami in their last three, after they previously faced the Hurricanes on March 7th.

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