Jordan Nwora had 21 points and No. 5 Louisville stepped up its defense and used a 15-0 second-half run to overcome a 15-point deficit and record its ninth straight victory, 86-76, over visiting Wake Forest on Wednesday night in the ACC.

Dwayne Sutton finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Lamarr Kimble had all 14 of his points in the second half as six players scored in double figures for the Cardinals (20-3, 11-1 ACC), who lead the league while off to their best ACC start in program history.

However, that run almost ended thanks to an overall lackadaisical effort in the first half that saw Wake (10-12, 3-9) shoot 60 percent and force the hosts into committing nine turnovers to trail 44-29 at the 1:51 mark -- and by 12 at the break.

However, Louisville re-focused on the defensive end and improved its shooting out of the break.

Ryan McMahon (12 points) converted a four-point play to get the Cardinals within 51-50 and Nwora's breakaway dunk gave them their first lead of the night, 52-51, with 14:52 left in the game. Nwora followed with a 3-pointer that sent the home crowd into an even bigger frenzy and helped Louisville gain control.

Louisville finished shooting 48 percent overall and 14 of 28 from 3-point range to win nine consecutive conference games for the first time since 2007-08.

Andrien White made five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points and Olivier Sarr had 16 for Wake, which was trying to win back-to-back league games for the first time since 2016-17. However, the Demon Deacons shot 30 percent in the second half, but never allowed the hosts to completely pull away.

Louisville, which trailed 46-34 at halftime, did not show much energy, especially defensively, through the first 20 minutes. Often, the Cardinals failed to contest shots as Wake Forest got plenty of good looks and went 6 of 14 from 3-point range.

The Demon Deacons used a 10-0 run to lead 32-17, and following a three-point play from Sarr, took that 44-29 advantage to leave the Louisville faithful stunned and frustrated late in the first half.

--Field Level Media