By John McCarthy —

The No. 6 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team defeated the Boston College Golden Eagles 86-69 Jan. 29 at the Silvio Conte Forum. 

This is the sixth straight in-conference win for Louisville (18-3, 9-1). They have not lost a game since Jan. 4 when Florida State downed the Cardinals at home. Florida State and Duke both sit a game and a half back from Louisville in the ACC standings heading into February.

Junior Jordan Nwora chalked one up first for the Cardinals, hitting a mid-range jumper. Seconds later, Nwora sank another jump shot off an assist by graduate Fresh Kimble. Junior Darius Perry was next to mark the scoreboard with a contested layup in traffic. 

Freshman Jay Heath hit two three-pointers for Boston College (10-11, 4-6). Perry answered with a three-pointer of his own. After a 6-0 Boston College run beginning at the 16:34 mark, Louisville began to fire back. 

Perry bottomed another three-pointer to silence the Golden Eagles run. A minute later, Nwora sank a three-pointer off an assist by freshman David Johnson.

Johnson has been a much-needed spark of the Cardinals bench, providing vital assists to fuel Louisville’s offense. 

With 8:49 left in the first half, Nwora made a free-throw to tie the game 25-25. The Cardinals finished the half shooting 4-5 from deep, helping them take the lead at halftime 45-43.

In the second half, the seasoned dominance of Louisville took center stage. 

Senior Dwayne Sutton got the Cardinals started by converting both of his free-throws. A minute later, Nwora fought for two offensive rebounds in a single possession, on the second offensive rebound he tipped the ball in for two.

This momentum-swinging moment brought the Cardinals together. 

Senior Steven Enoch showed the same class of hustle soon after, grabbing an offensive board and tipping the ball in for two. 

At the 15:30 mark, Johnson stole the ball from the Boston College offense and made a timely pass to Nwora for the transition dunk. 

With five minutes left to play, freshman Samuell Williamson and Senior Ryan McMahon swished back to back three-pointers to solidify the lead for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals offense chemistry was too much for the Golden Eagles.

Nwora dazzled with 37 points and nine rebounds. Sutton had 10 points and three rebounds. Perry contributed 14 points and a pair of assists. Johnson dished out six assists and grabbed eight boards. 

The Cardinals will travel to North Carolina State Feb. 1 to play the Wolfpack at PNC Arena at 2 p.m. on ESPN.