Cardinals breeze past Eagles, earn third straight victory
Louisville shook off a rusty first half, and used a 21-4 run to get things started in the second half, as the Cardinals blew past Morehead State 73-49 on Wednesday night.
The Cardinals got a career-high 17 points from guard Jerry Smith, 15 of his 17 points coming from beyond the arc, to help Louisville improve to 8-3 on the season. Terrence Williams also added 17 points and forward Derrick Caracter fell a rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 11 and grabbing 9 boards.
The Cardinals looked like a different team in the second half compared to the first 20 minutes. Their 21-4 run out of the break helped them bust this non-conference matchup wide open, and their tenacious press defense that has given their opponents problems all season long, was in full effect against the Eagles. Louisville held Morehead State to just 35 percent shooting in the second half, and forced 22 turnovers.
The Eagles gave the Cardinals everything they could handle and more for the first 20 minutes, with Louisville clinging to a three-point lead at halftime, 30-27. But the obvious difference in the second frame was the defense by the Cardinals. Their in-your-face defense translated into offense and a plethora of easy baskets for Louisville.
Although the Cardinals cruised to the win, they still have work to do, and not a lot of time to get everyone in sync and on the same page. 15 turnovers against Morehead State isn’t something to hang their hats on, and they had trouble keeping the Eagles off the glass, only outrebounding Morehead State 32-26.
With 2008 just days away, the schedule gets bumpy in a hurry for Louisville. They’ll ring in the new year on New Year’s Day for their first taste of Big East action, when they host Cincinnati, followed by an in-state clash against Kentucky. Their litmus test arrives in the form of No. 23 West Virginia on Jan.10th and then again a week later, Jan.17th against No. 13 Marquette. Both contests will be in the comfort of Freedom Hall.
Louisville will close out 2007 on Saturday, Dec. 29th when they Iona at 3 p.m.
Tags: Big East Basketball, louisville cardinals, Morehead State Eagles, NCAA Men's basketball