Jordan Nwora fired in a career-high 37 points Wednesday night as No. 6 Louisville pulled away late in the second half for an 86-69 win over Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Nwora, whose previous career high was 32 points, converted 11 of 20 field-goal attempts, going 7 of 14 from 3-point range. Nwora was also 8 of 9 at the foul line and added nine rebounds as the Cardinals (18-3, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) maintained first place in the league.

Darius Perry scored 14 points while Dwayne Sutton added 10 for Louisville, which canned 48.2 percent from the field and sank 12 of 27 3-point tries (44.4 percent). The Cardinals also dominated the glass, earning a 43-29 rebounding advantage behind 13 from reserve forward Malik Williams.

Derryck Thornton scored 17 points for the Eagles (10-11, 4-6), who also got 16 from Jay Heath and 13 points from Jairus Hamilton.

Louisville earned its seventh win in a row while Boston College fell for the fifth time in six games.

Thornton connected on two free throws with 8:35 left in the game to pull Boston College within 67-62, but Louisville went on a 14-2 run to put the underdogs away. Samuell Williamson and Ryan McMahon nailed consecutive 3-pointers, and Nwora's two foul shots gave the Cardinals an 81-64 advantage with 4:08 to play.

Nwora wasted little time announcing his presence with authority, knocking in a pair of short jumpers in the first minute to set the tone. Neither team stopped each other in the game's first 5 1/2 minutes, with Boston College leading 16-13 at the first TV timeout.

The Eagles, who entered the game averaging just 64.3 points per game, got to 25 less than eight minutes in on a 3-pointer by Thornton. Louisville promptly rattled off 10 straight points for a 26-25 edge when Nwora sank 2 of 3 free throw with 8:49 left in the half.

Nwora followed by drilling three consecutive treys in a 90-second stretch to give the Cardinals a 37-31 advantage. After Boston College followed with a 10-2 run to regain the lead, Louisville responded, jumping back in front and heading for halftime with a 45-43 cushion.

--Field Level Media