Chucky Hepburn scored 10 of his 32 points in overtime as Louisville pulled out a 79-70 victory against West Virginia in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals Thursday at Nassau, Bahamas.
Hepburn’s three-point play with 2:20 remaining in overtime gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 70-67. He finished 14-for-17 on free throws during a game when his impact was huge at both ends of the court.
Reserve Reyne Smith added 15 points and Kasean Pryor provided 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals (5-1). Terrence Edwards Jr. chipped in 10 points.
Javon Small drained four 3-point shots on the way to 26 points to lead West Virginia (4-2). Amani Hansberry’s 19 points and Toby Okani’s 12 also boosted the Mountaineers, who shot 44.1 percent (26 of 59) from the field but were hurt by Louisville’s 14 offensive rebounds.
The Cardinals, who trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, will face either No. 24 Arizona or Oklahoma in the tournament championship game Friday. West Virginia meets the loser in the third-place game.
Late in the second half, Hepburn scored nine points and made three steals during Louisville’s 14-2 run that produced a 59-52 lead.
But West Virginia stormed back in the next two minutes with eight straight points before Edwards’ basket put the Cardinals back in front. Small scored on a drive, and then Hepburn made it 62-62 by making one of two free throws at the 31-second mark. West Virginia botched the final play of regulation.
In overtime, the Mountaineers were held to two field goals and committed two turnovers.
Small, who shot 10-for-19 from the floor, led West Virginia with seven rebounds and seven assists. The Mountaineers got only three points from their bench players.
Louisville held a 24-9 scoring advantage on free throws despite missing nine attempts from the line.
Both teams upset nationally ranked teams a day earlier, with Louisville beating No. 14 Indiana and West Virginia upending No. 3 Gonzaga.
–Field Level Media
