Chucky Hepburn scores 15 as No. 19 Louisville holds off Virginia Tech 71-66

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- — Chucky Hepburn scored 15 points to lead No. 19 Louisville to a 71-66 victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night.

Hepburn connected on just 5 of 12 from the floor, but hit all four of his free-throw attempts and added six assists for the Cardinals (22-6, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and for the 16th time in 17 games.

Brandon Rechsteiner led Virginia Tech (12-16, 7-10) with 18 points.

Louisville, which led by as many as 11 in the second half and never trailed, saw Virginia Tech cut the lead to 67-66 on a short jumper by Rechsteiner with 1:49 to play. But the Hokies did not score again, turning the ball over on two of their final three possessions.

The Cardinals used a dunk by James Scott and two free throws by Reyne Smith in the final minute to hold off the Hokies.

Scott and Terrence Edwards Jr. each finished with 13 points for the Cardinals, who forced 22 turnovers.

Takeaways

Louisville: Arguably the surprise team in the ACC, the Cardinals registered their ninth road win of the season and still have an outside shot at the top seed in the ACC Tournament. They have three winnable games — all at home — to close the regular season.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies have lost three of their past four games, and barring a late-season run, will suffer their first losing season in 10 years.

Key moment

With Louisville leading 67-66, Scott grabbed a missed shot by Hepburn and dunked the ball with 59 seconds remaining.

Key stat

The Hokies’ 22 turnovers were their second most on the season, and Louisville took advantage, scoring 26 points off those turnovers.

Up next

Louisville is at home against Pittsburgh on Saturday, while Virginia Tech hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

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