BIRMINGHAM, AL–The Charlottesville Cardinals absorbed two more losses at the hands of the University of Texas-Arlington and the University of Missouri in play on Saturday at the Pioneer Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Cardinals stayed close to UTA for the first 14 minutes of the game but the UTA full-court press took its toll on Charlottesville as the first half ended, and the Cardinals found themselves down at the break 29-18. The Cardinals experienced an extended scoring drought in the first eight minutes of the second half and fell behind by 16 points with eleven minutes remaining. They never closed the gap and eventually bowed to UTA 60-36. Mike Looney had 16 for the Cardinals and Brandon Rush added 9.
In the day’s second game Charlottesville faced the University of Missouri Tigers and again stayed competitive through most of the first half. The Tigers combined some hot shooting with some strong play from their big men to spark a late first half rally to claim a 37-26 halftime edge. In the second half the Cardinals twice cut the margin to 8 points but never got closer and finally went down 67-46. Mike Looney led Cardinals’ scorers with 18 and Brandon Rush chipped in 12.
“Going up against these collegiate programs is definitely daunting,” said coach Tom Vandever, “but the experience for our team is extremely valuable. We’ll be able to build from the lessons of these games.”
The Cardinals will play the 10th-ranked Atlanta Shepherd Stealers Sunday morning before heading home.