Sydney Curry had 13 points and 19 rebounds to power Louisville to a 61-55 victory over visiting Florida A&M on Saturday.
Curry shot 5 of 7 from the field, and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line, while Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added eight points and nine rebounds.
El Ellis chipped in 13 points, all in the second half, to go along with a game-high seven assists, with Kamari Lands finishing with seven points and two rebounds.
The Cardinals (2-9), who won their second straight game after an 0-9 start, shot 19 of 45 (42.2 percent) from the field, including 3 of 14 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Louisville outrebounded Florida A&M 45-31.
Florida A&M (2-7), which lost for the third time in its past four games, was led by Jordan Tillmon’s 17 points, while Jaylen Bates added 13 points and seven assists. Jordan Chatman finished with seven points and four rebounds and Dimingus Stevens had eight points.
The Rattlers shot 22 of 64 (34.4 percent) from the field, including 6 of 22 (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
After the Rattlers went on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 34 on Bates’ jumper with 14:11 remaining, the Cardinals responded with a decisive 13-2 surge to take a 47-36 lead following Lands’ two free throws with 9:58 left.
The Rattlers didn’t get within five the rest of the way.
After Louisville took a 18-10 lead following Curry’s two free throws with 5:54 left in the first half, the Rattlers chipped away and pulled to within 22-20 at halftime.
Huntley-Hatfield scored eight points and Curry had six in the first 20 minutes for Louisville, which shot 7 of 23 (30.4 percent) from the field, including 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Florida A&M was led by Hantz Louis-Jeune and Bates, who scored five points apiece.
The Rattlers shot 8 of 30 (26.7 percent) from the field, including 2 of 10 (20 percent) from distance.
–Field Level Media