Sophomore Jordan Nwora scored 17 points to lead No. 23 Louisville to a 66-51 home win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, avenging the only setback it has suffered during a recent hot stretch.
The Cardinals (15-5, 6-1 ACC) have now won five in a row and six of their last seven games, with the only loss in that stretch being an overtime defeat at Pitt on Jan. 9.
Pitt (12-8, 2-5) again was a thorn in Louisville's side for the first 22 minutes of the game, taking a 36-31 lead with 18:36 remaining.
But then Louisville took control. The Cardinals went on a 7-0 run to take a 38-36 lead with 16:56 left, and after Pitt regained the lead at 39-38, Louisville went on an 8-0 run to go up 46-39 with 10:04 remaining.
Louisville further separated itself from there.
Another 8-0 spurt by the Cardinals gave them a 56-44 lead with 6:01 left, and then Louisville went on a 9-2 run to take a 65-47 lead with 3:21 remaining.
Junior Steven Enoch came off the bench to score 12 points and pull down 11 rebounds for Louisville, which forced Pitt into 35.2 percent shooting overall (19 of 54) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (6 of 21).
Louisville won despite a subpar shooting performance itself, as the Cardinals shot just 39.3 percent from the field overall (22 of 56) and 34.8 percent from 3-point range (8 of 23).
Only one player scored in double figures for Pitt, senior Jared Wilson-Frame with 14 points.
The Panthers have lost three straight games.
Louisville held a 24-21 lead with 3:44 left in the first half, but a 7-0 Pitt run gave the Panthers a 28-24 lead with 2:10 remaining until halftime.
Pitt ultimately held firm the rest of the first half and took a 33-29 lead into the break after a Kene Chukwuka layup at the buzzer.
--Field Level Media
Pittsburgh | Louisville | |
Jared Wilson-Frame 14 | Scoring | Jordan Nwora 17 |
Xavier Johnson 4 | Assists | Christen Cunningham 7 |
Khameron Davis 8 | Rebounds | Steven Enoch 11 |
Kene Chukwuka 3 | Free Throws Made | Steven Enoch 4 |
Terrell Brown 1 | Steals | Dwayne Sutton 3 |
Terrell Brown 2 | Blocks | Malik Williams 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Pittsburgh | 51 | 35.2 | 6-21 | 7-13 | 8 | 33 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
Louisville | 66 | 39.3 | 8-23 | 14-16 | 14 | 37 | 4 | 8 | 12 |