LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Louisville men’s basketball team overcame season-ending injuries to Kasean Pryor and Koren Johnson to rocket into second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
But Wednesday night at Boston College, the Cardinals took the Next Man Up challenge to another level:
Could they play the final 15 minutes and 15 seconds without all-conference point guard Chucky Hepburn and beat the lowly Eagles?
Book it. With Hepburn sidelined for most of the second half by what appeared to be a groin injury, the Cardinals (17-6) dispatched BC, 84-58, at the mostly empty Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Cards led 48-39 when Hepburn checked out, and they outscored BC by 17 points over the remainder of the game.
"The guys all rallied around each other and stepped up," Kelsey said.Â
Kelsey said he did not know the extent or specifics of Hepburn's injury. He said he was told by the training staff that Hepburn would not be available for the remainder of the game. Hepburn will be evaluated Thursday in Louisville
On the ACC Network telecast after the game, U of L teammate J'Vonne Hadley said that he expected Hepburn to be back soon. "He's also a dog," Hepburn said. "He's going to be good."
"I know he will be back," U of L wing Terrence Edwards said."He's a warrior."
Sure, Boston College (10-12) had won only two of its 10 ACC games and sat in 17th place in the 18-team league. But playing without Hepburn, the ACC leader in assists, steals and savvy, was a challenge Louisville had not encountered in its first 22 games.
Hadley delivered his second-best scoring game of the season, scoring 22. Edwards had a stellar overall game with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Kelsey said that Edwards' solid ball-handling skills made him a natural to replace Hepburn as the leader of the offense.
"We're an extremely dangerous offensive team with a lot of weapons that can score and beat you in a lot of ways," Kelsey said.
Hepburn sustained his injury after driving and converting a layup in front of the Louisville bench. As he turned to begin returning downcourt, he stopped and put a hand on the inside of his right thigh — and then went to the bench.
He was shown laughing and encouraging his team from the bench. His minutes were filled by Noah Waterman, Khani Rooths and Aboubacare Traore, although Hadley and Edwards took care of the ball-handling.
It was the second annoying moment involving Hepburn of the day.
When the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation’s top point guard, Hepburn was strangely missing from the list. UofL coach Pat Kelsey retweeted an announcement about the award with a king-sized frown emoji.
The Cards took control of the game early. They made half of their 14 shots from distance in the first half. They did not send BC to the foul line. They out-rebounded the home team by four. And the Cards did not trail.
The only thing they failed to do was put the game away in the first half. They pushed the lead to 15 with about 8 minutes to play but the Eagles knocked it back to six. A driving layup by Hepburn put the Cards ahead, 41-31, at halftime.
After playing consecutive games on the road, Louisville will play five of its final eight at home. The first of those five will be Saturday at 2 p.m in the KFC Yum! Center against Miami.
The Hurricanes (5-17) lost their first 10 ACC games before beating Notre Dame last Saturday. They are led by interim coach Bill Courtney who took over on after Jim Larranaga unexpectedly retired on Dec. 26.
Louisville will also honor its 2005 squad that featured Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean, Ellis Myles and Larry O’Bannon that won 33 games and advanced to the Final Four in St. Louis before losing to Illinois.
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