CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — London Perrantes scored 18 points and No. 12 Virginia used a 22-5 run to begin the second half and beat short-handed No. 4 Louisville 71-55 Monday night.
Isaiah Wilkins added 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for the Cavaliers 18-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). The victory gave Virginia four consecutive victories against the Cardinals, including a sweep of the season series, and moved them into a tie with No. 14 Florida State for second place in the conference.
Freshman V.J. King scored a career-high 24 points for the Cardinals (19-5, 7-4), whose three-game winning streak was snapped. Donovan Mitchell added 16.
The Cardinals were without their second- and third-leading scorers, with guard Quentin Snider (12.1 ppg) out with a hip flexor and forward Deng Adel (11.1 ppg) and center Mangok Mathiang (7.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) suspended for missing curfew Saturday. Reserve guard Tony Hicks also missed the game with a broken bone in his hand.
Louisville led 34-32 at the half but a 3-pointer by Perrantes got Virginia going on the big run to open a 54-39 lead.
The Cardinals are now the highest ranked team in a very rugged ACC and will get Adel and Mathiang back before their next game. If nothing else, King may have shown coach Rich Pitino that with more than 14.5 minutes per game, he might be ready to provide more of an offensive spark than previously.
The Cavaliers once again got back to basics — defense and patience on offense — but also continued to be uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, committing 14 turnovers after having 15 against Syracuse on Saturday. Many of them have come from trying to force the ball inside, an issue coach Tony Bennett is sure to address with five days to practice before they play again.
Louisville returns home after a two-game road swing to face Miami on Saturday afternoon.
Virginia continues a very challenging stretch, traveling to state rival Virginia Tech on Sunday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.