News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Cardinals soar to victory

Published: Nov 18, 2007 12:00 AM
Modified: Nov 18, 2007 02:03 AM

Cardinals soar to victory

Williams finishes with triple-double as No. 6 Louisville routs Hartford

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Rick Pitino's pregame instructions to Louisville small forward Terrence Williams are always the same: Fill out the statistical box any way you can.

The junior recorded the third triple-double in school history in host No. 6 Louisville's 104-69 rout Saturday of overmatched Hartford, scoring 14 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in the Cardinals' season-opener.

"You can see what makes us go," Pitino said. "T-Will obviously passes the ball and makes everybody better."

Against the Hawks (1-3), he directed traffic around the perimeter and hit open teammates who were happy to contribute to Louisville's school-record 22 3-pointers.

Pitino spent the last two seasons trying get Williams -- whom he considers the best athlete in college basketball -- to buy into Louisville's system, with mixed results.

Too often during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Williams would force the issue on both ends of the floor, taking ill-advised 3-pointers or difficult runners in the lane on offense and gambling on defense.

Andre McGee led seven Cardinals in double figures with 18 points -- all on 3-pointers -- while Jerry Smith had 14 points and Edgar Sosa added 13.

ALSO SATURDAY

MORE TOP 25

SIENA 79, NO. 20 STANFORD 67: Josh Duell scored 16 points to lead host Siena (2-2) over Stanford (4-1) in a win reminiscent of the Saints' stunning victory over the Cardinal in the 1989 NCAA Tournament.

NO. 14 GONZAGA 84, UC RIVERSIDE 48: Freshman Austin Daye scored 16 points to lead four players into double figures and host Gonzaga (3-0) routed UC Riverside.

Larry Cunningham led UC Riverside (0-4) with 11 points.

NO. 15 TEXAS A&M 85, OUACHITA 59: Bryan Davis scored 15 points, and freshman DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double to lead host Texas A&M (4-0).

The Aggies led this one from the beginning and Jordan's six quick points to open the second half put the game out of reach.

Ouachita (0-1) was led by Daniel Maddox with 21 points.

NO. 22 KANSAS STATE 77, WESTERN ILLINOIS 64: Freshman Michael Beasley scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half and had 22 rebounds, helping the Wildcats (3-0) overcome a sloppy first half.

Western Illinois (1-2) has won just four of its 54 road games in four-plus years under coach Derek Thomas.

NO. 23 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 88, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 68: Bryan Mullins scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half to help host Southern Illinois rout Northern Illinois in the Salukis' season-opener.

Matt Shaw added 16 points and Brandon Wood had 15, keeping Northern Illinois winless (0-4).

NO. 25 BUTLER 60, EVANSVILLE 47: A.J. Graves scored 22 points to lead Butler over host Evansville.

That gave the Bulldogs (3-0) a 41-32 lead with 14:03 left. The Aces came no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

AREA MEN

LIBERTY 55, EAST CAROLINA 53: Alex McLean tipped in a basket at the buzzer to lead visiting Liberty past East Carolina.

B.J. Jenkins scored 22 points to lead the Flames (2-3), who led by 13 points midway through the second half before holding on in the final seconds to win it.

Gabe Blair scored 15 points to lead the Pirates (1-2).

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNC-ASHEVILLE 83, CAMPBELL 71: Kenny George had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead visiting UNC-Asheville past Campbell in Buies Creek.

UNCA (4-0) outscored the Camels (1-2) 49-30 in the second period.

AREA WOMEN

OGLETHORPE 96, MEREDITH COLLEGE 54: The Angels lost to Oglethorpe (2-0) in the Emory & Henry Tip Off Classic in Emory, Va., to fall to 0-2 on the season.

Nicole Hall was named to the All-Tournament team. She scored 17 against Oglethorpe and 27 against Emory and Henry.

CAMPBELL 75, HOWARD 74: Sophomore center Ashley Williamson hit two foul shots with less than one second remaining to keep Campbell undefeated in the Longwood Invitational in Farmville, Va.

The Camels improve to 3-2, while the Bison fall to 0-6.

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