Louisville snaps nine-game losing streak to Virginia
Fifth-ranked Louisville men's basketball (21-3, 12-1) eked out a win over visiting Virginia (15-7, 7-5) by score of 80-73. The Cardinals defeated the Cavaliers for the first time since 2015.
Louisville now has a 10-game conference winning streak, their longest since joining the ACC.
Forward Jordan Nwora scored 22 points with seven rebounds. Centers Steven Enoch and Malik Williams each added 13 points.
Guard David Johnson played 17 minutes, scoring seven points with five assists. The hometown freshman was the primary ball-handler late in the game and made three-of-four free throws late.
The Cardinals opened the game with a barrage of threes, making five-of-six in the opening four minutes. Early on, Nwora and guard Darius Perry combined for 20 of Louisville's first 26 points.
Starting at the 9:30 mark in the first half, Louisville went on a two-minute scoring drought as the Cavaliers cut the lead to six. Guard Ryan McMahon bumped the lead back to nine with a three from the top of the key.
Following the under-eight media timeout, Louisville tallied a 7-0 run to balloon their lead to 13.
Virginia crept back to make it a nine-point lead, but a three-minute scoring drought allowed Louisville to take a commanding 14-point halftime lead. Nwora punctuated the final 90 seconds with a pair of contested jumpers.
Louisville's bench outscored Virginia 11-0 as the Cardinals led for 19 minutes in the opening half.
The Cardinals didn't make a field goal for nearly five minutes to open the second half, but connecting on five-of-six free throws kept their distance from Virginia. The Cavaliers refocused defensive effort limited Louisville to only three shots and two turnovers in the opening six minutes of the second half.
A whistle-heavy start to the second half (11 fouls in 10 minutes) changed the pace of play as both teams tried to cool off each other's hot shooting. A pair of baskets from Nwora kept Louisville afloat as Virginia cut the lead back down to seven.
Virginia's Tomas Woldetensae led the comeback, scoring 17 of his 27 in the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Cardinals struggled scoring field goals in the half, having two separate five-minute stretches without a field goal.
A late technical by head coach Chris Mack gave Virginia two free throws, giving them their first lead since the opening minute of the game.
Center Steven Enoch drilled a pair of free throws to give the lead back to Louisville with just under three minutes to play.
The Cardinals went to the free throw line on three straight possessions in the final 90 seconds before Virginia began intentionally fouling.
Louisville travels to Georgia Tech Wednesday, Feb. 12 for an 8 p.m. tip. The Cardinals defeated Georgia Tech 68-64 last month.
