LOUISVILLE, KY–The 16th-ranked Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team fell to the 9th-ranked Phoenix Banner Suns this evening, 69-45.
The Cardinals won the opening tip and surged to an 18-10 lead in the first five minutes of the game before the Suns shooters started finding the range and slowly chipped away at the Charlottesville lead.
The Suns nailed three three-point shots to claim their first lead of the game at 23-20 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Charlottesville offense sputtered and Phoenix entered the halftime break leading 36-24.
The Cardinals made several strong runs in the early in the second half and cut the lead to eight points, 44-36, with ten minutes left to play but the Phoenix shooters zeroed in again as Charlottesville ran out of gas.
Mike Looney led Cardinals’ shooters with 21 points, followed by Arthur Tracy and Chris Robinson with 8 points each. Andrea Woodson-Smith had 4 and Brandon Rush and Tom Vandever added 2 each.
The Cardinals will face the 12th-ranked Chicago Wheelchair Bulls at 3:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon.