Louisville Topples West Virginia in Overtime in Battle 4 Atlantis Semis

The Cardinals overcome their old Big East rivals to reach the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.

Nov 28, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) looks to shoot as West Virginia Mountaineers guard Sencire Harris (10) defends during the first half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NASSAU, The Bahamas - One day removed from making their first major statement under first year head coach Pat Kelsey, the Louisville men's basketball program has toppled one their biggest rivals from the Big East era.

Taking on West Virginia in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals, Louisville wasn't nearly as efficient as they were the day before when they upset No. 14 Indiana, but still came out on top with a 79-70 overtime win on Thanksgiving from Imperial Arena in The Bahamas.

With the Cardinals (5-1, 0-0 ACC) trailing by a point with 31 seconds left, Chucky Hepburn hit a free throw to tie the game, but could not hit the second. On the other side, they were able to force a Mountaineers (4-2, 0-0 Big 12) shot clock violation and head to overtime.

In the extra period, Louisville took over, scoring 12 of the final 15 points of the game. They went 4-of-7 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line in overtime, while West Virginia - playing in their second OT game in as many days after upsetting No. 3 Gonzaga on Wednesday - was just 2-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 at the line.

Louisville has now reached the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game in each of their three appearances in the event, and will face the winner of No. 24 Arizona-Oklahoma on Friday. Louisville will be looking for their first B4A title after falling to Duke and Baylor in the 2012 and 2016 championship games, respectively.

One day removed from setting a career-high in assists and nearly getting a triple-double, Hepburn, a transfer from Wisconsin, set a career-high in points with 32 - including 17 in the second half and 10 in overtime.

Reyne Smith also had 15 points, while Kasean Pryor has 13 and Terrence Edwards finished with 10. For West Virginia, Javon Small tallied a team-high 26 after scoring 31 vs. the Bulldogs the day before.

Louisville might not have shot the ball as well as they did against the Hoosiers, but they built on their defensive energy and overall physicality from that outing.

The Cardinals shot it at just a 42.1 percent clip but made 33 trips to the free throw line with 24 makes, compared to 44.1 percent from the field with 9-12 from the charity stripe by the Mountaineers. They also won the rebounding battle 41-34, along with a 14-9 edge on the offensive glass, and forced 16 turnovers for 14 points off them - while WVU had 15 forced turnovers for just seven points.

The majority of the first half was reminiscent of the style of play from old Big East: gritty, physical and with points at a premium. Louisville was just 6-for-25 from the field with 10 turnovers over the game's first 18 minutes, while West Virginia was 3-for-13 with five turnovers in the first 10 minutes.

The Mountaineers were the first to gain a little bit of momentum on the offensive end. They countered with a 9-for-17 shooting stretch in the latter 10 minutes of the half after their slow start, and used an 18-5 run to lead by as much as 11 points with roughly two minutes until halftime.

But in those final two minutes, Louisville was able to bounce back for a tiny spark of momentum. They hit their final three shots of the period, going on a 7-0 run to only trail 28-24 at the break.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Cardinals got within a point of the Mountaineers but also trailed by as much as nine, struggling to string together good possessions on both ends of the floor and get over the hump.

Midway through the half, Louisville finally found their groove, going on a 14-2 run to flip a five-point deficit into a seven-point lead with just over four minutes left. While their defense waned to kick off the half, the Cardinals countered by hitting 10 of their first 15 in the period.

However they hit just one of their final seven, allowing West Virginia to creep back in. The Mountaineers hit four of their final five shots of regulations, firing off an 8-0 run to lead by one with under a minute left. UofL's Edwards and WVU's Small traded baskets in this final minute, setting up the segment that sent the game to OT.

Next up, Louisville will face the winner of Arizona/Oklahoma in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Kevin Jairaj - Imagn Images)

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