No. 11 Louisville pulls away from Virginia Tech 68-52

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jordan Nwora had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 11 Louisville moved into first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 68-52 victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday.

The Cardinals (24-6, 15-4 ACC) rebounded from last week’s loss at No. 6 Florida State and took a half-game lead over the Seminoles, who swept the season series and hold the tiebreaker with two games to play. Louisville has one game remaining, at third-place Virginia on Saturday.

Jalen Cone scored 15 points off the bench and Nahiem Alleyne had 12 for Virginia Tech (15-14, 6-12), which lost its fourth in a row and ninth in 10 games.

Nwora bounced back from an 11-point effort against FSU to make 8 of 16 from the field with a couple of 3-pointers. The junior followed one 3 with a three-point play during the 15-2 second-half run that put Louisville ahead to stay.

Steven Enoch had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals, who owned Tech 40-26 on the boards. Louisville shot 50% in the second half and 46% overall while holding the Hokies to 38% from the field.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia Tech: After an energetic first half in which it built several small leads, the Hokies slowed after taking their last lead at 34-32 in the second. They missed seven of their next 10 shots and struggled to contain Nwora.

Louisville: The Cardinals’ home finale wasn’t pretty, though the finish was better than the start. Nwora created chances and had help from Ryan McMahon (10 points), who dropped a couple of 3s. Louisville finished 17-1 at home as it honored its seniors and Nwora, who could enter the NBA draft.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech hosts Clemson on Wednesday, seeking to sweep the Tigers. The Hokies won 67-60 earlier this season.

Louisville seeks a sweep Saturday when it visits Virginia, which has won six straight since it fell to the Cardinals.