Louisville routs Bearcats, 93-66
Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 22, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Taquan Dean scored 21 points and Francisco Garcia added 19 for No. 5 Louisville in a 93-66 victory over sixth-ranked and previously unbeaten Cincinnati on Wednesday night, the Cardinals' 14th straight victory.
Luke Whitehead had 18 points and eight rebounds as the Cardinals (14-1, 5-0 Conference USA) beat the Bearcats for the fourth time in the last six meetings.
Dean went 7-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range despite playing with a pulled groin.
Louisville's victory margin matched the worst in Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins' 15 seasons there. The Bearcats lost to North Carolina 90-63 in 1993.
Jason Maxiell scored 14 to lead Cincinnati (13-1, 4-1), one of three undefeated teams in Division I coming into the game, which scored only 26 points in the second half.
The Cardinals went 29-of-42 from the free throw line, while Cincinnati was 12-of-26.
Louisville outrebounded Cincinnati 42-38 and generated 19 points off the Bearcats' season-high 19 turnovers.
Both teams speeded up the game from the start with their trademark fullcourt pressure. But neither defense was effective early as the Bearcats started 4-of-6 from the field and the Cardinals were 4-of-7.
Tony Bobbitt's 3-pointer with 15:42 left in the first half started a 9-0 Bearcats' run that gave Cincinnati a 19-12 lead.
Garcia, held without a field goal in the first 8 minutes, scored nine points during Louisville's 13-2 run to answer.
The Cardinals pushed the lead to five, but the Bearcats retook the lead at 33-31 on Bobbitt's 3-pointer in front of the Louisville bench with 5:41 left in the half.
The Cardinals held Cincinnati to two field goals the rest of the half in taking a 44-40 lead. The Bearcats hadn't trailed at halftime or in the second half of any game this season.
Cincinnati committed seven turnovers and nine fouls in the first 9:25 of the second half, enabling Louisville to open an 11-point lead. The Cardinals, shooting 72 percent from the free throw line this season, hit seven of their first 12 free throws in the second half and led 63-52 after Kendall Dartez made two with 10:35 left.
James White had a layup with 10:06 remaining, but Alhaji Mohammed and Dean hit 3-pointers over the next 2 minutes as Louisville began to pull away.