Louisville guard Fabio Basili (11) drives past Virginia Tech guard Rodney Rice (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Virginia Tech won 71-54. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
LOUISVILLE (AP) — Grant Basile scored 18 points and Justyn Mutts had a double-double and Virginia Tech ended a two-game losing streak beating Louisville 71-54 on Tuesday night.
Mutts scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds, Hunter Cattoor scored 11 and Sean Pedulla scored 10.
El Ellis and Mike James each scored 14 for Louisville.
Lynn Kidd’s basket with 12:30 left before intermission gave the Hokies (17-13, 7-12 ACC) a 10-8 lead and they stayed ahead for the remainder. The basket jumpstarted a 12-2 run and Cattoor’s 3-pointer made it 20-10 with 7:15 before intermission. Virginia Tech went to the break up 35-27.
MJ Collins made two foul shots with 16:28 remaining for a 41-29 advantage before Louisville (4-26, 2-17) closed to within 47-41 six minutes later. But Louisville struggled to score from there and Virginia Tech sealed it outscoring the Cardinals 24-13 in the last 10 minutes for the second half. Louisville failed to score in a 4:59 stretch.
Virginia Tech ends the regular season hosting Florida State on Saturday. Louisville closes regular-season play Saturday at No. 13 Virginia.
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