By Harry Barsan

Louisville basketball eases their way to a late-night victory over the California Golden Bears in front a packed home crowd.

Chippy and then some

J’Vonne Hadley got the game off on the right note, drawing a foul on the opening tip.

The next possession Terrence Edwards Jr. would get the scoring going with a three-pointer.

The game would then shift in Cal’s favor, with an 8-0 run to put the Cards behind 3-8.

The Cards exited an early 5-minute scoring drought with Edwards Jr’s second three of the game, followed by a few free throws from the team.

Then Reyne Smith would check out of the game with an injury just eight minutes into the game. He would not return.

After Andrej Stojakovic brought the deficit to three, Edwards would hit yet another triple to tie the game up at 12-12.

Soon after Edwards would give Louisville their first lead on a jump shot, forcing Cal into their first timeout.

Louisville got their first non-Edwards field goal on an Aboubacar Traore dunk right under the 10-minute mark.

After Cal took another three-point lead, Edwards hit back-to-back threes to give the Cards their own three-point lead.

After a nip and tuck game for most of the first half, Hadley finally helped get some separation and kicked of a 7-0 run over almost three minutes.

After a loose ball play went wild Edwards ended up on the ground. He tried to get up and hustle down the court but got caught up with Mady Sissoko who didn’t take kindly to Edwards’s effort.

While a Sissoko got called for just a tech, Edwards got tabbed with a questionable flagrant foul, knocking him out of the half with his third foul.

Thankfully, though, this only ignited Louisville’s flame.

Despite the game being tied just a few moments before and thanks to efforts from every Cardinal on the court, Louisville went on another 7-0 run and swelled the lead up to 15 just like that.

By the half, Louisville was ahead 41-26 and earned every bit of it.

Chipped teeth and masks

Cal continued to struggle to string together any form of offense for more than a few minutes. They were never quite out, but also never quite in.

An early second half surge from Chucky Hepburn and Edwards took the lead as high as 24, but that was quickly responded with three quick Cal buckets.

Louisville soon after would lose some more stake in the game, dropping down to just a 13-point lead before the next timeout.

While Cal continued yet another scoring lull, Khani Rooths was more than happy to capitalize on an alley-oop off the hands of Hepburn, forcing a timeout.

The Cards would leave no doubt from then on out. Edwards would smash his seventh three and shortly after passed 30 points total with a pair of free throws.

Despite the game being well out of reach, the Golden Bears weren’t aware of it. They fought hard but not well. Another technical foul was called on Cal, and later James Scott’s mask was broken and his nose was cut after heavy contact.

However, the rest of the game sorted itself out without too serious an injury, as the clock dwindled down.

Louisville won with a final score of 85-68.

Hard fought and then some

This game marks Louisville’s 12th win of the season with 11-plus threes.

Still, Louisville didn’t force anything this game, and their second half reflected that. Despite going 8-of-19 on threes in the first, they only attempted five in the second and made three of them.

Edwards was feeling himself early and often, grabbing 17 first half points before outdoing himself in the second to end up with a career-high of 35.

Edwards is the fourth player this season to reach 30 points in a game, the most in a single season in Louisville history.

Similarly great were Hadley and Hepburn. While each of them put up 16 points, they grabbed 15 boards together on some very efficient shooting.

Noah Waterman was a quiet but important hero Wednesday, stepping into a bigger role after the injury to Smith. He had six points and six rebound, and even chipped a tooth during the game.

While the Cards found their rhythm, Cal looked awful, shooting just 21-of-71 on field goals. 71 shots matches their season high, but just 21 makes it their season’s sixth-lowest.

Cal missed an insane amount of shots at the basket, largely to the presence of Scott, who had a big game tonight. He had a team-leading three blocks and contributed to many of those misses.

With their eighth win in a row, Louisville is now 24-6 on the season and 17-2 in the ACC. Their 17 conference wins is the most ever in a single season in program history.

Louisville also continues their streak of leading ACC opponents by 10-plus, now sitting at 20 game in a row.

The Cardinals will take on Stanford Saturday at 2 p.m. at home for senior night.

Photo by Vinny Porco