Terrence Edwards Jr.’s career high 35 points was more than enough to carry Louisville basketball to another ACC victory over west coast foe, California.
Louisville basketball came into Wednesday night’s late matchup with California following a series of hard fought, often not pretty victories, seemingly saved by heroic performances from their stellar senior backcourt. When Wednesday’s game tipped off, it appeared like it would follow suit.
The game started off with Terrence Edwards, Jr. and California graduate transfer guard Jovan Blacksher, Jr. trading three pointers, and the Cards taking an early 8-6 lead. Edwards, Jr. was the only Cardinal with a field goal for most of the first half, connecting on threes at the 11:13, 7:50, and 7:20 mark, with a beautiful scoop and score in between at 10:40.
J’vonne Hadley, who had been held to a pair of free throws for the first thirteen minutes, connected on a three with six minutes and twenty one seconds remaining in the first half, ending his, and the rest of the team’s, field goal drought. On the following California possession, Noah Waterman blocked a DJ Campbell layup, leading to a Cardinal fast break and another Hadley field goal at 5:50. The Cards were ahead, 27-22.
On a controversial play at the 4:10 mark, Terrence Edwards, Jr. was given a flagrant, and his third, foul, when Mady Sissoko attempted to walk over Edwards, Jr.’s body as the latter tried to stand up. Sissoko was given a technical foul, but Edwards, Jr. had to sit. Up until this point, Edwards, Jr. had been the entirety of Louisville’s offense. The Bears were hanging with the Cards, fouls sent Coach Pat Kelsey’s hot hand to the bench, and there was plenty of basketball left to play.
Louisville basketball wakes up
Right on time, the rest of the Cards really woke up. Waterman connected on a three after a beautiful shot fake at the 2:55 mark, opening the lead to double digits at 34-24. James Scott would follow with a monster slam with eighty seconds remaining in the first half. Chucky Hepburn, who had been cold from the floor following a career high against Pittsburgh, hit a three with 48 seconds remaining. The Cards took a 41-26 lead into halftime, and had held the Bears scoreless for eight minutes.
When the second half opened, so did Louisville’s lead. Hepburn would hit another three ninety seconds after the break, followed by another from Edwards, Jr. Hepburn was fouled on a made layup, expanding the lead to 53-29 after the made free throw. Cal would counter with back to back made threes, getting as close as 53-37, but the Cards always had a response.
Khani Rooths connected on a slam, and the Cards were up 66-51. At the 7:31 mark, Hepburn threw a monster lob to Rooths, causing the Yum! Center to explode and giving the Cards a 70-51 lead. The Bears would never really recover or threaten again, and the game ended with Louisville taking the win, 85-68.
TRENDING NOW: Chucky Hepburn makes national statement against Pittsburgh
Photos by Jared Anderson
Looking ready for March
There were a lot of things to like about this one. For a team that has recently suffered defensive lapses and given up early leads, this game looked exactly how you’d want it to: the Cards took an early lead that slowly expanded as the contest went on. They held the Bears to field goal droughts of eight and four minutes, which they used to put the game out of reach and keep it there.
When Louisville’s top, and only, scorer (Edwards, Jr.) left the game in foul trouble, the rest of the team picked up right where he left off. When sharpshooter Reyne Smith left after aggravating a leg injury, the next-man-up mentality Coach Kelsey preaches allowed the Cards to go to a longer, quicker lineup and cause the Bears problems in different ways. In spite of being pestered by the scrappy interior play of California’s forwards, the story at the rim of Wednesday night’s game was how Scott lives above it (67 dunks this year).
ALSO RELEVANT: How Pat Kelsey has personified never delaying gratitude
What victory means for Louisville basketball
After a stretch of games when Terrence Edwards, Jr. and Chucky Hepburn carried the team to ugly wins, it was refreshing and invigorating to see a more balanced effort in a game that never got close after the Cards got the lead to double digits. While the tendency of a single player accounting for much of the team’s offense through large stretches of games is troubling, it’s good to know that Kelsey has players capable of doing that. What’s promising is his defense showing up in big ways, frustrating the Bears through large portions of each half.
During a break at the 15:54 mark, a graphic compared the first season of legendary Coach Denny Crum to what we have seen thus far of Kelsey’s: Crum had twenty six wins, an NCAA tournament berth, and a trip to the Final Four. Kelsey has twenty four wins, and is surely bound for the big dance. In fact, we saw him, and the whole team, dancing, in a clip four minutes into the first half.
How long will his first team dance?
