Louisville basketball survived a red hot start from Boston College and rode a career game from Jordan Nwora to big-time victory.
Louisville basketball played one of its most complete games of the season in another ACC road game in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on Wednesday.
Chris Mack’s squad rolled into the late-night matchup on Chestnut Hill with a head full of steam, standing alone at first in the conference and riding a six-game winning streak.
BC got hot red early, draining their first 6 shots, including 3 three-pointers, which is a stark contrast to what they have been used to putting up from long range in the season thus far (28%).
The Eagles would stay hot from three for the first ten minutes, hitting their first 4 of 6 from deep, surging to a 25-16 advantage. They would also outrebound the Cards in the early going.
But Louisville star Jordan Nwora had other plans. The crafty junior went on a tear in the first half, scoring 12 points in the first 12 minutes, releasing shots with confidence from all over the floor in all kinds of defensive coverage.
The Cards were able to make up ground quickly behind Nwora’s efforts, and lead at halftime 45-43 in what shaped up to be an eye-popping shootout.
Louisville would jump out of the gate early in the second half with some scrappiness to them, going after loose balls, securing offensive rebounds, and capitalizing on second chance points. They took a 57-49 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining.
The Eagles would hit back, but only momentarily as Louisville’s lead remained consistent for the remainder of the second half before they finally put the Eagles away 86-69. It would be Louisville’s second straight win of 17 points or more and seventh straight win overall.
MVP: Jordan Nwora
Nwora led all scorers with a monstrous 37 points. He started off the game absolutely unconscious, dropping 21 points in the first half on 5-6 three-point shooting. His level of confidence is at an all-time high, and it showed in his shot selection vs BC.
He is evermore showing why he was preseason ACC Player of the Year, finishing the game with 37 points. The guy played absolutely lights out.
X-factor: Darius Perry
For the second straight contest, Perry scored double-digits, appeared poised, made wise decisions, and remained positive when things weren’t going his way.
He scored 14 points and showed his prowess as the experienced point guard/combo guard that we all know he can be. It was great to see a player, who was challenged by his coach at the beginning of the season, turn it up in consecutive games the way Darius did.
Defining moment: Nwora’s transition three
Have we talked about Jordan Nwora enough yet? My goodness. At one point about midway through the second half, the Cards were able to get out and run on a fast break.
David Johnson glanced over to a streaking Nwora who was emphatically calling for the ball. Jordan stopped on a dime and knocked down a three with as smooth of a stroke as you will see. It really helped set the tone the rest of the way.
Stat you need to know: 47-33
Louisville has struggled against inferior competition with battling for boards as of late, but they began to assert their physicality on the glass against the Eagles, out-rebounding them 47-33.
In recent games, the Cards have been frustrated in box-out situations, and it was nice to see the elbow grease effort on the block, resulting in several put-backs.
Big picture: Louisville extends ACC lead
Even after FSU’s debacle at Virginia earlier in the week, the Cards really needed to double down on staking their claim of the number one position in the conference. As we have seen, putting together a lengthy winning streak and surviving the meat and potatoes of the ACC schedule can be a daunting task.
Moving forward, I think we’d all like to keep this winning streak going, but things happen. Nevertheless, tonight was a staunch reminder for the rest of the league that this Louisville team is out for blood this season.