Abmas hits game-winner as No. 19 Texas outlasts Louisville 81-80 in Empire Classic

Max Abmas hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer as No. 19 Texas outlasted a stiff challenge from Louisville to earn an 81-80 victory Sunday in the Empire Classic.

In a game with 21 lead changes and 14 ties, Abmas gave the Longhorns the dramatic win off a successful inbounds play.

Chandel Weaver inbounded to Kadin Shedrick, who quickly got the ball to Abmas. Abmas moved to the right side and released a shot over Skyy Clark that cleanly went in.

After making the shot, Abmas was mobbed by his teammates.

Before Abmas hit his dramatic shot, Louisville held an 80-78 lead on a 3-pointer by Clark with 81 seconds left. After Texas was called for a shot-clock violation with 36 seconds left, Louisville also got called for a shot-clock violation with seven seconds left to allow the Longhorns to win it.

Shedrick scored a career-high 27 points for Texas. Abmas added 14 as the Longhorns shot 46.3%.

Clark and Tre White scored 20 apiece for the Cardinals (2-2), who were unable to finish off their first win against a ranked team since beating Virginia Tech on Jan. 6, 2021.

Texas constantly got to the rim and shot 57.6% in the opening 20 minutes for a 41-38 lead. The Longhorns’ last seven shots were layups or dunks, and they ended the half on a layup by Abmas following an errant pass by Ty-Laur Johnson.

Texas missed its first five shots of the second half and trailed 48-44 after Clark converted a 3-point play with 16:53 left. The Cardinals took a 52-50 lead on White’s reverse layup with 13:16 left and Texas held a 59-54 lead on a drive by Abmas with 9:36 to go.

BIG PICTURE

Texas: Shedrick constantly had his way inside with several dunks and easy baskets as he surpassed his previous career high of 20 set with Virginia in 2022 against Louisville

Louisville: The Cardinals brought constant energy as their bench was often engaged and hanging on every play.