MBB: Louisville ends long Charlottesville drought with 70-50 win over Cavaliers

By Scott Ratcliffe

Louisville put an end to its nine-game losing streak in Charlottesville on Saturday, cruising to a 70-50 win at John Paul Jones Arena, its first at UVA in nearly 35 years.

The last time the Cardinals tasted victory in Central Virginia came all the way back in February of 1990, when they were members of the now-defunct Metro Conference.

The Cardinals (10-5, 3-1 ACC) picked up their fourth-straight win overall, and were just the second Virginia opponent to score 70 points or more across the last 63 games at JPJ.

The Cavaliers (8-6, 1-2) got within two points, 36-34, in the early stages of the second half and were down by four at the midway point, but Louisville’s late, decisive 12-2 scoring run extended the difference to 17 as the game went under the three-minute mark.

Both Aboubacar Traore (8 rebounds) and Reyne Smith (five 3-pointers) led the way for the Cardinals, with each scoring 15 points off the bench (which outscored the Wahoo reserves, 34-2).

J’vonne Hadley finished with 11 points and fellow starter Chucky Hepburn added 10, as the Cards will look for the season sweep when they host the Hoos in two weeks (Saturday, Jan. 18).

As has been a recurring issue, Virginia was dominated on the boards, 42-25, including a 14-6 count on the offensive glass that led to 10 second-chance points for the visitors. Louisville also doubled up UVA in paint scoring, 36-18.

The Hoos didn’t score for the final 2:29 of the game, misfiring on 6 of their last 7 field-goal attempts over the final five minutes of action. Andrew Rohde led all scorers with a season-high 16 points, while Isaac McKneely (3 for 7 from long range) added 13 and Elijah Saunders had 12 in the loss.

UVA shot at a 37-percent clip (20 of 54) for the afternoon, including just 19 percent (5 for 26) from 3-point land, and the team’s 10 turnovers led to 10 points on the other end of the court.

Jon Golden Photo Gallery

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia fell to 8-6 overall, 1-2 ACC
• The home ACC loss was UVA’s largest since a 66-42 loss to Maryland on Jan. 27, 2011
• Virginia finished 3-2 during its five-game homestand
• UVA is 7-2 at home
• Louisville used a late 12-2 second half run to gain the win
• UVA went on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 20-20, but Louisville responded with a 7-0 run en route to a 32-27 halftime lead
• UVA is 2-5 when trailing at the half
• UVA finished 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) from 3-point range and allowed 13 offensive rebounds which
• Louisville outscored Louisville 36-18 in the paint
• Louisville’s owned a 34-2 advantage in bench points

Series Notes

• Virginia is 24-6 all-time vs. Louisville in a series that dates to 1923-24
• The loss ended UVA’s nine-game overall and nine-game home win streaks against Louisville
• The Cavaliers are 11-2 vs. the Cardinals in Charlottesville, including the 9-1 mark at JPJ
• UVA is 19-3 vs. Louisville since the Cardinals joined the ACC

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Andrew Rohde (16), Isaac McKneely (13), Elijah Saunders (12)
• Rohde’s 16 points marked a UVA high for the transfer from St. Thomas (Minn.)
• Rohde reached double figures for the sixth time (37 career)
• McKneely scored in double figures for the 11th time (37 career)
• McKneely (3 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in 10 games
• McKneely has a 31-game 3-point streak dating back to last season
• Saunders reached double figures for the ninth time (16 career)
• Saunders has a five-game double figure scoring streak
• Taine Murray made his second start of the season (4th career) and had career highs in rebounds (5) and blocks (2)

UP NEXT

The Hoos will head to the West Coast next week for a pair of games against new conference members California (Wednesday, 11 p.m., ESPNU) and Stanford (Saturday, 4 p.m., TV to be determined).