National Basketball Association
Louisville 78, Western Kentucky 55
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 22, 2012
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Brent Hampton, # Doug Shows, # Michael Stewart
Attendance:
10728
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 4 Louisville 78, Western Kentucky 55: Sophomore Wayne Blackshear had 17 points and matched a career-high with eight rebounds, and the Cardinals shut down the Hilltoppers in Nashville, Tenn., for their sixth straight victory
Russ Smith scored 20 points for Louisville (11-1), which had 10 steals after entered the game third in the nation at 11.9 and forced 18 turnovers. Chane Behanan added 14 points and seven rebounds while freshman Montrezl Harrell added 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
Brandon Harris led Western Kentucky with 14 points and seven rebounds, but was 5-of-18 shooting from the field. The Hilltoppers (8-5) have lost three straight after a six-game winning streak.
The Cardinals flustered the Hilltoppers with pressure defense, which produced six steals among Western Kentucky's 12 turnovers in the first half as Louisville used a 19-2 run to take a 40-22 lead at the break. The Cardinals also limited the Hilltoppers to 29.6 percent shooting - 3-for-11 from 3-point range - before intermission.
Western Kentucky got as close as 50-38 after George Fant's jumper with 9:08 to go, but a 10-4 run ended any hopes of a comeback. Smith scored 10 straight Louisville points, capping his personal run when he was fouled while throwing down a thunderous dunk which sent the crowd into a frenzy. His ensuing free throw put Louisville ahead 76-51 with 1:43 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville PG Peyton Siva had five points and five assists before fouling out with 4:03 remaining. ... Western Kentucky fell to 6-25 against top five teams. ... The Cardinals have won four straight meetings, and 21 of the last 24.
Top Game Performances
| Western Kentucky |
|
Louisville |
|
Brandon Harris 14 |
Scoring |
Russ Smith 20 |
|
Brandon Harris 3 |
Assists |
Peyton Siva 5 |
|
Brandon Harris 7 |
Rebounds |
Wayne Blackshear 8 |
|
Eddie Alcantara 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Russ Smith 11 |
|
Brandon Harris 3 |
Steals |
Peyton Siva 2 |
|
Teeng Akol 1 |
Blocks |
Montrezl Harrell 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Western Kentucky
|
55 |
38.8 |
4-16 |
13-22 |
4 |
30 |
2 |
5 |
20 |
| Louisville
|
78 |
50.9 |
5-14 |
19-27 |
10 |
33 |
5 |
10 |
12 |