LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (10-1, 2-0) stretched its winning streak to nine and remained unbeaten in Conference USA by overwhelming Saint Louis 73-54 this afternoon at Freedom Hall. Trailing by two at the half, the Cardinals buried the Bills with a 49-point second half.
The Billikens started strong and sophomore forward Izik Ohanon's turn-around jumper gave SLU a 19-6 lead at the 10:24 mark. But Billiken scoring leader Marque Perry left the game with his second foul just two minutes later. Although Perry was inserted in the waning moments of the half for offensive sequences, SLU could only score seven more points the rest of the way.
"When Marque left the game early with foul trouble, it shortened our guard rotation," Billiken head coach Brad Soderberg said. "It particularly effected us in the second half, and there were times that our guards were gassed."
The Bills led 26-24 at the break by limiting UofL to 23.8 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent from threeland. Freshman guard Anthony Drejaj gave the Bills a lift with 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half.
Louisville quickly took command in the second half as All-Conference guard Reece Gaines took over the game. Gaines' lay-up gave UofL its first lead, 28-26 at 18:28. The Bills reclaimed the lead, 30-28, on center Kenny Brown's baseline jumper. Cards swingman Erik Brown drained a triple to regain the lead, and center Marvin Stone's jumper gave UofL its first three-point edge.
Billiken senior guard Drew Diener's trey tied the game at 33, and Drejaj's lay-in tied the game at 35 with 14:11 to play. The Cardinals' defense dug in and sparked a decisive 15-2 run. UofL led 50-37 at the 9:22 mark and cruised from there.
Gaines scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Swingman Francisco Garcia chipped in 13 points off the bench. Center Marvin Stone finished with 10 points and six boards. The Cards shot a sizzling 56.3 percent in the second half to finish at a respectable 43.4 percent for the game. UofL out-rebounded the Bills 41-34.
Louisville held Perry to seven points, but the senior had a team-high five assists. Foul-plagued Josh Fisher could only contribute six points. The Bills were saddled with deep foul trouble throughout the game as six players had at least two fouls at halftime. Ohanon fouled out in only 13 minutes with only four points.
The Billikens shot chilly percentages from everywhere - .346 percent from the floor, .313 from the arc and .591 from the free throw line. Senior guard Drew Diener's was the only Bill on-target as he made all three of his three-point attempts for nine points. Back-up forward Ross Varner saw more time than usual and finished with seven points and five offensive rebounds.
The Billikens (6-7, 0-2) return home for a date with Cincinnati on Wed., March 15, for a 6 p.m. tip-off at Savvis Center.
