Justyn Mutts delivered 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, doing a little bit of everything, as Virginia Tech snapped its 17-game losing streak against Louisville with a 75-43 win Tuesday night in Blacksburg, Va.
Darius Maddox and Keve Aluma scored 11 points each. Nahiem Alleyne added nine points and four steals for the balanced Hokies (19-11, 11-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) who won for the ninth time in their last 10 games. The victory was their first over the Cardinals since the 1990-91 season.
Sydney Curry provided 18 points and 11 rebounds for Louisville (12-17, 6-13), which lost for the 10th time in its last 11 games, moving a step closer to ensuring its first losing season since 2000-01.
The Cardinals were without Malik Williams, who didn’t make the trip because of a coach’s decision. Williams is Louisville’s second-leading scorer and tops the team in rebounds and blocks.
The Hokies held the Cardinals to a season low in points. Louisville made 36.2 percent of their shots and committed 18 turnovers.
Tech, which entered the game seventh in the nation in 3-point accuracy (39.1 percent), finished 12 of 28 (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc, with four different players hitting at least two each.
Before the game was four minutes old, Tech was 4 of 4 on 3-point attempts, including a pair from Storm Murphy, and held a 12-2 lead.
The Hokies continued their long-range assault as Sean Pedulla came off the bench and hit a pair of treys.
But El Ellis answered with two 3-pointers for the Cardinals and Curry kept Tech from running away as he scored Louisville’s final seven points of the half, which ended with the Cardinals down, 33-21.
Jarrod West and Matt Cross drained 3-pointers soon after the break for Louisville, but Virginia Tech kept pace, answering each with baskets of its own.
The Hokies used a nine-point run early in the second half to grab a 47-27 lead. Mutts had six of the points in the burst.
Three 3-pointers by Maddox helped the Hokies stretch their lead to 32 points.
–Field Level Media
