Cardinals Claim Carousel House Championship

Mar 3, 2014

PHILADELPHIA–The 15th-ranked Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team went 5-0 this past weekend in Philadelphia to claim the championship trophy at the annual Carousel House tournament.

The Cardinals opened play on Friday night against the 18th-ranked Keystone Royals and despite falling behind in the early moments rebounded to establish a 29-19 halftime lead en route to a solid 56-42 victory.  The Cardinals’ Mike Looney led all scorers with 23 points, followed by Brandon Rush with 8, Cort Thomas with 7, Andrea Woodson-Smith and Tom Vandever with 6 each, Chris Robinson with 3, and Jeremy Smith and Derry Hill with 2 apiece.

The Cardinals cruised in their Saturday morning match, overpowering the Washington, DC Air Capital squad, 72-23.  Mike Looney again led Cardinals’ scorers with 13 points, followed by Jeremy Smith and Andrea Woodson-Smith with 10 each, Brandon Rush with 9, India Sims and Chris Robinson with 8 each, Eddie Wimbish with 6, Tom Vandever with 4, and Cort Thomas and Derry Hill with 2 each.  All Cardinals’ players scored in the game.

The Cardinals then tangled with a scrappy University of Pennsylvania-Edinboro squad in Saturday’s afternoon tilt and struggled in the first half as Edinboro scratched out a 22-17 halftime advantage.  Charlottesville regrouped in the second half with an aggressive full court press and Edinboro was unable to maintain the pace as the Cardinals notched a convincing 59-37 win.  Mike Looney had 27 points, followed by Andrea Woodson-Smith with 8, Chris Robinson with 7, Brandon Rush with 5, Cort Thomas with 3, and Tom Vandever and Derry Hill with 2 each.

In the Sunday morning elimination game the Cardinals once again eased past Air Capital, this time 62-21.  Tom Vandever and Mike Looney had 12 points apiece, followed by Chris Robinson and Derry Hill with 8 each, India Sims and Andrea Woodson-Smith with 6 each, and Cort Thomas with 3.

The win put the Cardinals into the championship game–again facing the 18th-ranked Keystone Royals.  This time Charlottesville started strongly and after taking a 2-1 lead in the opening minute never trailed in the game.  The Cardinals built a 26-18 lead at the break but the Royals didn’t fold and made two strong rallies in the second half before the Cardinals put away the 57-48 victory.  Mike Looney led all scorers with 25 points, followed by Andrea Woodson-Smith, Cort Thomas, Tom Vandever, and Brandon Rush–all with 6 points each, Chris Robinson with 4, and Jeremy Smith and Derry Hill with 2 each.  Mike Looney received the tournament’s “Top Scorer” award.

The Cardinals are now 19-16 on the season.  Final seedings for the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s national tournament (April 4th-6th) will be announced this week.  The Cardinals are currently ranked 15th in the country.