BIRMINGHAM, AL–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team struggled in all four games this weekend at the Pioneer Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, going 0-4.
The 14-ranked Cardinals opened the competition on Friday against the 8th-ranked Atlanta Shepherd Stealers but found themselves down 29-15 at the half after a very sluggish start. Charlottesville closed the gap to seven points with five minutes left to play but never got closer and fell 59-47. Chris Robinson led Charlottesville scorers with 16 points, followed by Mike Looney with 13 and Tom Vandever with 10. No other Cardinals were in double figures. Shepherd’s Gavin Cloy led all scorers with 23.
Friday’s afternoon match up pitted the Cardinals against the defending intercollegiate national champion University of Alabama, but the Charlottesville offensive woes persisted throughout the game and the Crimson Tide notched an easy 73-34 win. Chris Robinson and Tom Vandever each had 12 points for the Cardinals,
Saturday morning saw the Cardinals tangling with the 1st-ranked Dallas Movin’ Mavericks who nailed their first eight shots of the contest en route to a 47-27 halftime margin. The scrappy Cardinals made some minor runs in the second half but ultimately fell 86-60 to Dallas. Mike Looney had 22 points for the Cardinals, followed by Tom Vandever with 12.
In the Cardinals’ final game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon, the team faced the University of Missouri squad. The Cardinals claimed an 16-15 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half but only scored one basket in the remainder of the period to trail at the half 26-18. The Cardinals’ offense never reappeared and Missouri earned a 61-37 victory over the punch less Cardinals. Mike Looney had 14 points for the Cardinals followed by Tom Vandever with 11.
The Cardinals will have a few weeks to lick their wounds before heading to Orlando in mid-February.