BIRMINGHAM, AL–The Charlottesville Cardinals tackled two of the best teams in the US on Friday at the Pioneer Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama and came up short in both contests.
The 15th-ranked Cardinals opened the tournament against the 3rd-ranked Indianapolis RHI Pacers but fell 73-55 in a hard-fought game. The Pacers, recently bolstered with the addition of Paralympian Steve Serio, built a five-point lead 17-12 after the first twelve minutes of the game and established an 11-point halftime margin, 35-24. The Cardinals rallied briefly early in the second half but the Pacers quickly responded and Charlottesville never got closer than seven points. Mike Looney led Cardinals’ shooters with 16 points, followed by Chris Robinson and Tom Vandever with 12 each.
In the afternoon game the Cardinals faced the hot-shooting University of Alabama men’s team, and the Intercollegiate Division powerhouse progressively strangled the older and slower Cardinals with their suffocating full-court press. After trailing the Crimson Tide 38-21 at the half, the Cardinals’ offense completely evaporated as they went the first nine minutes of the second half without scoring and eventually bowed 69-38 to Alabama. Mike Looney again led Cardinals’ scorers with 11 points and Tom Vandever added 10.
For the Cardinals, there is no rest for the weary as they face the University of Texas-Arlington–another strong Intercollegiate squad–at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning to complete the round-robin portion of the tournament. Saturday afternoon the Cardinals will play in the cross-over segment of the competition.