ATLANTA–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team opened their 2013-14 season on the road at the Shepherd Shoot-out in Atlanta and came up short when they tangled against the 8th-ranked Shepherd Stealers, 68-63.
The Cardinals started the game sluggishly and midway through the first half found themselves trailing 20-7 after several unforced errors and defensive lapses.
But as the Shepherd squad cooled a bit the Cardinals started finding the basket and closed to a five-point deficit at halftime, 31-26.
The second half remained close as the Cardinals would repeatedly sally, cutting the Shepherd lead to three points several times. But each time the Stealers answered. With 32 seconds to play Charlottesville closed to within four points but Shepherd remained steady on the foul line to preserve the win.
Brandon Rush led all Cardinals’ scorers with 18 points, while Tom Vandever added 16 and Chris Robinson chipped in 12. Newcomer Derry Hill contributed 8 points and veterans Eddie Wimbish had 7 and Gino Wilson had 2. Shepherd’s Gavin Cloy led all scorers with 30 points.
The Cardinals take the floor again on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. against the always tough Orlando Magic Wheels. Saturday afternoon Charlottesville will face both the University of Alabama Men’s and Women’s team in successive matches.