Louisville's Reyne Smith leaves game with lower leg injury in game against Cal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Reyne Smith left No. 14 Louisville’s game against California on Wednesday night with an apparent lower leg injury.

The senior guard exited with 12:36 left in the first half. When the Cardinals returned to the court for second half warmups, Smith came out after other players and did not take part.

Smith, who is third on the team averaging 13.8 points per game, has been one of the catalysts for the Cardinals turnaround this season. He transferred to Louisville after three seasons with the College of Charleston to continue playing for coach Pat Kelsey.

After the game, which the Cardinals won 85-68, Kelsey said he was told by the team’s trainer that Smith would not be able to play but did not know if his guard may miss additional time.

The 6-foot-2 Australian native is considered one of the nation’s top outside shooters. For the season, he’s made 106 of his 277 3-point attempts. He leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and is third nationally in 3-pointers made. In addition, his 400 career 3-pointers ranks second among active Division I players.

A prolonged absence would be the latest blow to the Cardinals’ depth, who lost key players Koren Johnson and Kasean Pryor to season-ending injuries in November. Despite that, Louisville has won eight straight and 18 of 19 after beating Cal to move to 24-6 overall and 17-2 in the ACC.

Before Wednesday’s game, Louisville was 13th in the ACC making 33.1% of its 3-pointers, but the team’s 283 were second most in the conference. The Cardinals went 11 for 23 in Wednesday’s win.

“We’re a good three-point shooting team,” Kelsey said. “We value that in the recruiting process, and we’re built that way. Obviously, Rayne’s elite. Rayne’s one of the best shooters in college basketball. One of the best shooters that I’ve ever coached, but we have a bunch of guys who can make shots.”

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