Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Louisville Cardinals Box Score on Dec 29, 2021

Noah Locke buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining Wednesday night as Louisville survived a see-saw finish for a 73-69 victory over visiting Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference basketball thriller.

Rebounding from an 82-72 loss at Western Kentucky in their most recent game, the Cardinals (8-4, 2-0 ACC) lost leads three times in the final 4:47, only to get them back on each occasion with a 3-pointer.

Locke, Louisville's leading scorer with 17 points, hit two of the 3-pointers, the last time after Daivien Williamson had given the Demon Deacons (11-2, 1-1) their final lead at 67-66 with 1:30 to play.

Williamson had a chance to continue the amazing back-and-forth and put Wake Forest back on top in the final minute, but misfired on a 3-pointer, after which Locke and Mason Faulkner combined for four free throws to ice the win.

Locke's first 3-pointer in the game-ending sequence came immediately after Isaiah Mucius had put the visitors up 61-60 with 4:47 to go.

Mucius, who did all his scoring on three 3-pointers, then hit again from long range for another one-point Wake Forest advantage with 2:21 to go, only to see that lead disappear as the result of a Malik Williams 3-pointer at the other end 22 seconds later.

Williamson followed with his go-ahead hoop with 1:30 left, followed by Locke's response.

Samuell Williamson finished with 12 points, while Williams and Faulkner added 11 apiece for Louisville, which beat Wake Forest for the fifth consecutive time.

Samuell Williamson and teammate Jae'lyn Withers shared game-high rebound honors with eight.

Jake LaRavia and Alondes Williams, who accrued a game-high seven assists, had 15 points apiece to pace Wake Forest, which saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. Daivien Williamson chipped in with 14 points.

After being down by as many as eight points in the first half, 31-26 at the break and 36-27 after a LaRavia three-point play in the first minute of the second period, Louisville got 3-pointers from Locke and Withers in an 8-0 burst that made it a one-point game.

The game was subsequently tied four times, including at 58-all, before Faulkner's layup with 5:21 to go put Louisville on top and started the wild exchange of 3-pointers and lead changes.

--Field Level Media