CHARLOTTESVILLE–The 15th-ranked Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team notched two wins on Sunday in a doubleheader match against the NRH Ambassadors.
The Cardinals jumped out quickly over the NRH squad in the first game and went into halftime with a 41-16 lead. The Ambassadors rallied early in the second half as the Cardinals’ shooters hit a brief cold streak but the Charlottesville offense soon reignited to fire the Cardinals to a solid 78-49 victory. The Cardinals’ Mike Looney led all scorers with 37 points, followed by Brandon Rush with 19 and Tom Vandever with 11. Harsh Thakker led NRH scoring with 22 points.
In the second game of the day NRH jumped to a 6-2 lead in the opening minutes and stayed close to the Cardinals throughout the first half. Charlottesville’s Mike Looney hit a three-pointer at the first half buzzer to give the Cardinals a 40-26 edge at the break. However, the second half was all Charlottesville as the Cardinals’ defense clamped down and limited NRH to only 16 second half points en route to a 81-42 win. The Cardinals’ Mike Looney again led all scorers, this time pouring a Cardinals’ record 44 points. Brandon Rush had 17 and Tom Vandever added 10 for Charlottesville.
The Cardinals are now 17-10 on the season and will travel to Orlando for their next tournament at the end of February.