RALEIGH, N.C. — Its lead slipping to single digits, Louisville basketball desperately needed a stop with a minute and some change remaining in the first half Wednesday night at N.C. State’s Lenovo Center.
Chucky Hepburn delivered; stripping the ball out of Ben Middlebrooks’ hands and finishing the play with an easy layup at the other end.
Groin injury? What groin injury?
With Hepburn back in the starting lineup — and James Scott donning a mask that looked as if it came straight out of Hannibal Lecter’s wardrobe — Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals (19-6, 12-2 ACC) returned to as full strength as they can get and ended a four-game losing streak to the Wolfpack (9-15, 2-11) with their first win in Raleigh since 2021: 91-66.
U of L led for all but 39 seconds and by as many as 25 points. After the Cards bolted out to a 16-5 lead within the first 6:16 of the game the closest State got was 36-27 with 1:13 to play before halftime.
That’s when Hepburn, returning from a groin injury he suffered during a Feb. 5 win at Boston College, came up with the aforementioned strip and score. Reyne Smith followed by draining an after-timeout 3 before the buzzer; and the rout was on.
Smith and Terrence Edwards Jr. led all scorers with 21 points apiece, followed by J’Vonne Hadley with 17.
Hepburn finished with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting and six assists against two turnovers across 31 minutes of run. He was one of three players to tally two steals.
Scott, in a return to his home state, chipped in six points and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
Up next for Louisville: an 8 p.m. tipoff Sunday at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Pat Kelsey’s club routs NC State in ACC game
