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Louisville triumphs but frustrates Pitino

 
Published Nov. 24, 2013

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Louisville's 21st straight win wasn't what coach Rick Pitino would have liked it to be.

Chris Jones scored 15 and Montrezl Harrell added 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the No. 3 Cardinals to a 71-57 victory over Fairfield on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament.

But the Cardinals (5-0) committed 26 fouls and turned the ball over 14 times against the Stags.

"We were just flat in every phase of the game," Pitino said. "We were flat offensively with only nine assists. Our two point guards turned it over eight times, which they haven't been doing. We didn't do the little things necessary to exploit the weaknesses of Fairfield. We were late to the glass a lot. A lot of things were disturbing, but we'll go ahead."

Maurice Barrow led Fairfield with 14 points, and Marcus Gilbert had 11.

Louisville, which has three national titles, will be looking for its 27th title in a regular-season tournament when it faces North Carolina in today's championship game.

"This wasn't a close game," Pitino said. "You're going to see close (today). That's if we don't get blown out. If we play this way (today), it won't even be a game. I think their size is going to give us a little trouble. They do a lot of good things defensively, and they're long. They offensive rebound very well."

The Stags stayed with the Cardinals for much of the first half and led 11-9 midway through it. But Louisville went on a 28-12 run to close the half and led by as many as 21 after the break.

Wayne Blackshear had 11 points and Russ Smith added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinals.

NO. 1 MICH. ST. 87, OKLAHOMA 76: Keith Appling had 27 points, Gary Harris had 21 and Branden Dawson had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Spartans (6-0) held on at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn.

NO. 11 MEMPHIS 98, NICHOLLS ST. 59: Austin Nichols had 20 points to lead five players in double figures for the host Tigers (2-1).

NO. 12 WIS. 76, ORAL ROBERTS 67: Frank Kaminsky had 21 points to lead the host Badgers (6-0), who held off an upset bid after nearly blowing a 16-point lead and won by single digits for the third time this season.

NO. 23 CREIGHTON 82, TULSA 72: Doug McDermott scored 21 of his 33 in the second half and Austin Chatman had a career-high 19 for the host Bluejays (4-0), playing as a ranked team for the first time this season.

NO. 24 UNC 82, RICHMOND 72: Marcus Paige scored a career-high 26 and Brice Johnson had 24 points to help the Tar Heels (3-1) bounce back from their first loss of the season at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.

JU 76, FAMU 72: Marcel White had 16 points and Vincent Martin hit four late free throws to help the host Dolphins hold off the Rattlers (1-4).

SAINT LEO 84, S.C.-AIKEN 80: Jerrel Harris had 21 points and hit two free throws with three seconds left to seal the win, and Ron Foxx came off the bench to provide 14 points and 11 rebounds for the host Lions (7-1).

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TAMPA 62, P.B. ATLANTIC 58: Da'Markco Foster had 27 points and Vincent Cornu had 13 rebounds for the host Spartans (3-1), who never trailed but had to hang on at the end.

Women

NO. 1 UCONN 100, MONMOUTH (N.J.) 46: Breanna Stewart had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the host Huskies (7-0), who led by as much as 61 in the Hall of Fame Challenge tournament.

NO. 5 NOTRE DAME 76, PENN 54: Kayla McBride had 15 points and Taya Reimer 14 to lead a balanced offense for the visiting Irish (4-0).

NO. 6 STANFORD 63, TEXAS 54: Chiney Ogwumike shook off a four-point first half to score 18, rallying the visiting Cardinal (4-1).

NO. 8 MARYLAND 90, TOWSON 53: Alyssa Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the visiting Terrapins (4-1) used a late run in the first half to pull away.

NO. 9 BAYLOR 92, UTSA 62: Odyssey Sims scored 28, Nina Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds and the Bears (6-0) extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 63 games.

NO. 15 LSU 81, LA. TECH 69: Raigyne Moncrief had 17 points, and the visiting Tigers (4-1) held the Techsters to 29.4 percent shooting in a game marred by a second-half fight, leading to three ejections.

NO. 16 COLo. 85, NEW MEXICO 53: Jen Reese had 18 points and seven rebounds for the visiting Buffaloes (4-0), who won their 28th straight nonconference game.

NO. 19 S.C. 88, SAN DIEGO ST. 54: Alaina Coates had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the visiting Gamecocks (6-0).

NO. 21 MICH. ST. 81, RICE 68: Becca Mills had 20 points for the host Spartans (4-1), who forced 20 turnovers and broke it open in the second half.

ECKERD 95, FLAGLER 84: Liga Vente had a career-high 31 points to lead four players in double figures for the Tritons (4-0) in their home opener.

CHICO ST. (Calif.) 77, TAMPA 67: Illyssa Vivo and Juliana Cavallaro had 17 points each for the visiting Spartans (3-2).