LOUISVILLE–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball lost another close game at the NWBA championship tournament today, falling to the Grand Rapids Pacers 66-60.
As legendary Louisville coach Denny Crum watched from court side, the Cardinals trailed by seven points late in the first half before staging a furious rally in the last three minutes of the period to claim a 31-30 halftime lead.
The game remained tight throughout the second half as the lead exchanged repeatedly until the Pacers grabbed a five-point lead with a little over two minutes remaining. The Cardinals cut the margin to three with 48 seconds to play but Grand Rapids’ Joe Burmania hit his free throws to ice the game.
The Cardinals will next face the Courage Center (Minnesota) Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon.
Charlottesville’s Mike Looney led all scorers with 24 points and Tom Vandever added 10. Grand Rapids’ Burmania finished with 19 points, 17 of them in the second half.