85 - 68 
Behind Terrence Edwards’ career-high, Louisville set a new program record for conference wins.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
It was Terrence Edwards’ turn to play new career-high, as the James Madison transfer poured in 35 points in Louisville’s 85-68 win over visiting California Wednesday night.
Edwards’ big night comes just four days after backcourt mate Chucky Hepburn set a new personal best with 37 points in U of L’s win over Pittsburgh. Hepburn had to settle for 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists against the Bears.
With the win, Louisville moved to 17-2 in ACC play and set a new program record for most conference wins in a season. The Cardinals will wrap up the regular season on Saturday against Stanford.
The Cards controlled the action for the vast majority of the evening despite Cal coming down with 20 offensive rebounds and attempting a whopping 71 field goals. The Bears could connect on only 21 of those, good for just 29.8 percent.
The news wasn’t all good for U of L.
Starting guard Reyne Smith left the floor in the first half with with what was described as a “lower body injury.” After several minutes in the locker room, Smith returned to the Cardinal bench, but did not warm up with the team after halftime and never re-entered the game.
In addition to Edwards and Hepburn, the Cards also got 16 points and eight rebounds from J’Vonne Hadley, as well as a strong performance off the bench from Noah Waterman. The 6’11 forward scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, and gave U of L terrific minutes on defense.
It was chippy, it was gross for some stretches, but ultimately, it was a pretty dominant dub.
Let’s get Reyne healthy, let’s have a hell of a farewell party inside the Yum Center on Saturday afternoon, and then let’s get back to doing what we’re supposed to do during the best time of the year around these parts.
