CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Reyne Smith and Aboubacar Traore each contributed 15 points, leading Louisville to a 70-50 win against Virginia on Saturday. This victory marked a significant achievement for first-year coach Pat Kelsey, as it was Louisville’s first triumph ever at the John Paul Jones Arena in 10 attempts.

The Cardinals, boasting a record of 10-5 and 3-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, secured their first road win over the Cavaliers since February 1990. Meanwhile, Virginia, now 8-6 and 1-2 in conference play, had previously dominated the series, winning 18 of the last 19 encounters, giving them a historical lead of 24-6 over Louisville.

Following his previous coaching positions at Winthrop and Charlotte, Kelsey was tasked with revitalizing the program this season. His counterpart at Virginia, Ron Sanchez, took over as interim coach after the notable retirement of three-time national coach of the year, Tony Bennett, in October.

Smith was particularly effective from beyond the arc, hitting five of ten 3-point attempts, while Traore, coming off the bench, successfully made six out of ten shots and also pulled down eight rebounds. This performance helped Louisville dominate the rebounding battle 42-25. Additional contributions came from J’Vonne Hadley, who scored 11 points, and Chucky Hepburn, who added 10.

On the Virginia side, Andrew Rohde led the effort with 16 points, with Isaac McKneely and Elijah Saunders contributing 13 and 12 points, respectively. Both McKneely and Rohde scored eight points in the first half, and Rohde’s layup at the 4:20 mark tied the game at 20 points.

However, Louisville responded with an electrifying sequence as Traore dunked and hit a 3-pointer, leading his team to outscore the Cavaliers 12-7 and enter halftime with a 32-27 advantage. Traore’s contribution was especially notable, as he netted nine points in a first-half bench performance that saw the Cardinals’ reserves outscore Virginia’s bench 17-0 before the halftime break and 34-2 overall.

As the second half commenced, Louisville started strong, scoring the first four points. Virginia attempted to rally back with a 7-0 run, narrowing the gap to two points. However, both Smith and Rohde quickly responded with 3-pointers, and Traore added two more baskets to help the Cardinals extend their lead with a 10-2 run, maintaining a comfortable cushion throughout the remainder of the game.

Looking ahead, Louisville will host Clemson on Tuesday, while Virginia is set to travel to face California on Wednesday.