Sananda Fru’s perfect 8-for-9 night and first career double-double snapped a two-game Louisville slide, exposed Boston College’s shooting woes and gave head coach Pat Kelsey his 300th career victory in a statement 75-62 win.
Cardinals survive 10-point hole without injured back-court stars
Louisville entered Saturday on a two-game tailspin and without leading scorers Ryan Conwell (knee) and Mikel Brown Jr. (back). The response: a sophomore forward who had never posted a double-double in cardinal white exploded for 19 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-9 shooting, igniting a 75-62 comeback that felt like a season pivot.
Second-half switch flips the script
Boston College controlled the first 24 minutes, stretching its lead to 41-32 on Fred Payne’s fourth triple. Louisville answered with a 9-0 burst, finally nosing in front 44-43 on Aly Khalifa’s wing three. The game seesawed until the 8:35 mark, when the Cardinals ripped off an 11-0 run featuring four different scorers—proof of the balanced attack Kelsey has preached since October.
By the numbers: efficiency vs. volume
- Sananda Fru: 19 pts, 13 reb, 8-9 FG—94.4% true shooting
- Adrian Wooley: 16 pts, 6-8 FT, second-half dagger pull-ups
- Isaac McKneely: all 13 pts after intermission, spacing the floor
- Louisville: 45% overall, 4-16 from three (25%), 15-19 FT (79%)
- Boston College: 36.5 FG%, 8-27 from deep, 8-14 FT
Eagles’ shooting slump deepens
BC arrived ranked outside the top 300 nationally in effective field-goal percentage and left no doubt why, hitting just 29% after halftime. Donald Hand Jr. needed 17 shots for 12 points; the rest of the rotation combined for 11-of-41. The 0-3 ACC start is the program’s worst since 2015.
What it means for Louisville’s January push
The victory keeps the No. 20 Cardinals (12-4, 2-2 ACC) inside the top four of the league standings and gives Kelsey milestone cachet heading into a brutal stretch: at Wake Forest, home vs. Clemson, at North Carolina. If Fru’s rim-running and offensive rebounding become a consistent third pillar alongside Conwell’s shot-making and Brown’s playmaking, Louisville’s ceiling jumps from bubble team to protected-seed threat.
Next up
Louisville travels to Winston-Salem on Wednesday for a rematch with Wake’s front-line depth, a game that will test Fru’s new-found confidence against NBA-sized length. Boston College returns home to face Virginia, desperate to find anyone besides Payne (22 pts, 4-7 3PT) who can reliably put the ball in the basket.
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