The 19th-ranked Louisville Cardinals avoided an upset on the road Tuesday night, earning a 71-66 victory over Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va.
Chucky Hepburn scored 15 points and dished out six assists to offset six turnovers, which tied a season high. James Scott added 13, going 6-for-7 from the field, and Terrence Edwards Jr. also scored 13 as the Cardinals (22-6, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight game.
Louisville won despite one of its poorer shooting performances this season. The visitors went just 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from beyond the 3-point line but mitigated that by forcing the Hokies (12-16, 7-10) into 22 turnovers, which the Cardinals converted into 26 points.
The Cardinals made seven of their first nine shots to jump ahead 16-3 after a Reyne Smith 3-pointer with 14:25 left. They went 9-for-12 during the first eight minutes but then missed seven straight. That allowed the Hokies to cut the lead to 22-19 after a Brandon Rechsteiner jumper with 7:28 remaining in the half.
Rechsteiner led the Hokies with 18 points off the bench.
Virginia Tech used the perimeter to claw its way back into the contest, going 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) from the arc while making just 43.1 percent (25-for-58) overall. Rechsteiner, who came in Tuesday averaging 6.5 points and making just 28.6 of his 3-point tries, went 4-for-7 from deep to finish one point off his career best.
Louisville never trailed, but Virginia Tech tied it twice midway through the second half. The Hokies missed five shots that would have given them a lead.
Rechsteiner forced Hepburn into a turnover with 26 seconds left and Louisville up 69-66. The Hokies had a chance to tie, but Jaydon Young turned the ball over with 9 seconds left. Smith then made a pair of free throws to seal the game.
The bench carried the Hokies for the second straight game. After scoring 53 of the team’s 81 points against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, reserves accounted for 42 on Tuesday.
Ben Burnham added 13, and Tyler Johnson finished with 12.
The Hokies played without forward Mylyjael Poteat, who injured his knee during the first half of Saturday’s win at Miami.
