Jordan Nwora Scores 37 as #6 Louisville Downs Boston College 86-69
Boston College battled #6 Louisville tough for the first twenty minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals downed the Eagles 86-69. Led by superstar forward Jordan Nwora's career high 37 points, Louisville dominated the Eagles in the second half to pick up their ninth conference win.
The game started off extremely well for the Eagles as they found their shot early and built a lead midway through the first half. It was a shooting battle between the teams as they both traded buckets with the Eagles leading 25-16.
Boston College was hitting everything, with CJ Felder and Nik Popovic doing a great job down low, and Derryck Thornton and Jay Heath shooting well from the perimeter. On top of that the Eagles were tenacious on defense, diving for balls and forcing ten Cardinals turnovers in the first half. The game had that feel of a BC upset.
But the Eagles couldn't keep the momentum going, mostly due to the play of one man, Jordan Nwora. The junior from Buffalo, New York was incredible, especially from three point range where he shot 7-14 in the game. After Louisville took the lead midway through the first half, Nwora would answer almost every surge from the Eagles with a big basket of his own.
"He hadn't played well, so he's due," Jim Christian said after the game. "He got into a great rhythm, he's a great player. A couple of times we were right there. ... Some guys you can be a step slow and still get there and contest it, not with a great shooter like that."
The second half of the game was more of what many expected heading into the matchup. Louisville dominated Boston College, hitting their shots and was much more physical on the offensive and defensive boards. The Cardinals did a better job protecting the ball in the second half, only turning it over three times.
Louisville jumped up to a double digit lead, and Boston College struggled cracking the Louisville defense as they were held to only 26 points in the second half. With about five minutes left the game was well out of hand after a three pointer by Sameull Williamson put the Cardinals up by 12. The game ended with Nwora trying two three point shots, both of which he missed, as he tried for 40 points.
Boston College was led by Derryck Thornton (17 points) and Jay Heath (16 points). Their next game will be on Saturday against the UNC Tar Heels.
