By Harry Barsan

Louisville defeated the Florida State Seminoles for the second time this season.

This matchup came as the Cards battled through the flu during their six-day break between games.

Foul play

Louisville got out running with three-pointers from J’Vonne Hadley and Reyne Smith, both within the first minute. FSU was clearly flustered, and called a very early timeout called shortly after.

It took the Seminoles until 14:30 to get their first field goal, but they only managed to bring the score to 8-2.

It was Hadley picked up his second three and single-handedly outdid FSU’s first-half mark from three.

Tension and contact was a strong theme this game, made first evident by the FSU’s multitude of fouls early on. Louisville entered the bonus by the 12-minute mark.

Three different players, including Terrence Edwards Jr., picked up a pair of fouls and rode the bench for much of the first half.

That wouldn’t daunt Louisville, as the Cardinals rocketed to a 29-13 lead on some very solid shooting.

The lead would be as much as 20 points after Chucky Hepburn reached his 11th point on an and-1 jumper.

Despite picking up three fouls in the half, the player who benefited the most from the frequent foul-calling was Hepburn. He made 6-of-7 from the line and would improve that mark as the game went on.

FSU closed the gap just a bit, but Louisville still led 45-31 at the half.

Contributions to charity

While it looked like Saturday’s game would easily morph into yet another blowout, FSU was determined to hand around.

The Noles made their first three in over 18 minutes of game time, pulling within eight early in the second half.

The Seminoles continued to hang around and slowly inched into a six-point deficit with just over 10 minutes to go.

While the Cards were by no means having a bad half, solid possession after solid possession from the Seminoles kept this thing too close for comfort. The bulk of these possessions were led by Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin, who Louisville struggled to slow down in the first matchup.

Louisville’s field goal accuracy also dipped by eight points and three-pointers by nearly 20.

The difference, though, wouldn’t be on field goals. The refs were no stranger to the whistle this half either, and the Cards got to the line at line.

Despite the plethora of fouls, the game remained close as the Cards couldn’t slow down Ewin or Watkins. But Hepburn really stole the show and kept Louisville out front. He scored nine straight points, including four points at the line, to put the Cards back up by 15.

Florida State then held Louisville scoreless for three minutes as the Noles strung together a 7-0 run. Edwards stopped the bleeding with a jump shot, but FSU went back down and matched the points with a layup to bring the score to 81-75 with a minute left.

Then the Noles began the hack-a-Cardinal, and Hepburn made his magic happen at the line.

Louisville had trouble stopping FSU each time down the court, but their free throw shooting was enough to put the game away. On his 19th attempt, Hepburn made his 17th free throw of the game to set a program record.

Louisville would walk away with an 89-81 victory.

Somewhat sickening

Louisville survived a dangerous Seminoles team who put up 50 points in the second half alone thanks to some all-around smart and efficient basketball. The Cards gave up 54.2% from the field, but only 23.5% from deep.

Louisville ended up shooting 50% from the field Saturday despite a poor second half, and made a third of their 21 total threes. Decent shooting numbers considering the illness the Cardinals were dealing with.

The Cards did a fantastic job drawing fouls, as FSU got called for 25 on the game. Four different Seminoles ended with four-plus fouls, including two who fouled on. Louisville made 30 of their 34 free throw attempts, the most made for the Cardinals this season.

Hepburn, of course, had a phenomenal night, with 17 of his 29 points coming at the line. He was even more of a problem on defense, snagging five steals and causing a myriad of future nightmares.

Hadley racked up 18 points on some solid 7-of-11 shooting while also leading the Cardinals with 11 boards. Edwards had some nice buckets in the second to reach 16, while Smith made three three’s as he eclipsed 11.

Louisville is now 21-6 on the season and 14-2 in the ACC, as their winning streak creeps back up to five games.

Louisville will attempt to parlay this action into Tuesday’s meeting against Virginia Tech. They travel to the Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Photo Courtesy // Chris Carter, Louisville Athletics