CardinalSports.com - No. 22 Cardinals sprint past Arkansas, 96-66

November 17, 2009

Howie Lindsey
CardinalSports.com Managing Editor

After undermanned Arkansas made a 14-0 run to start the second half that cut No. 22 Louisville's lead to 48-45, the Cardinals kicked back with a monster 37-11 run in the second half to blow away the Hogs, 96-66. Rick Pitino's Cardinals had six players score in double-figures including 20 points from reserve small forward Reginald Delk.

Louisville took an early 10-4 lead with the help of threes from Preston Knowles and Jerry Smith, but Arkansas, playing without five players including three starters due to disciplinary issues, answered with an 7-0 run to take an 11-10 lead with 14:29 to go. The Cardinals and Razorbacks traded leads seven times over the next six minutes, and the teams were tied at 22 with 7:46 to go before the half.

The Cardinals were up 27-24 with five minutes to go, and then UofL started pulling away as Arkansas' depleted lineup began to take its toll. UofL outscored Arkansas 21-7 over the final five minutes of the first half, pushing ahead by 17 points by the end of the first half.

Louisville's remarkable run at the end of the first half included two three-pointers by Delk and threes by Edgar Sosa and Jared Swopshire. Delk came off the bench to score 13 points in the first half to lead all scorers.

At the half, coach Rick Pitino told ESPN's Holly Rowe that it was evident that Louisville's depth became a bigger factor near the end of the first half. Arkansas had just two field goals in the final five minutes of the half, and they looked like they had lost steam on defense.

As strong as Louisville looked to end the first half, they went ice cold to start the second. The Cardinals had three early turnovers and missed their first six shot attempts in the second half while the Hogs scored the first 14 points of the second half to cut Louisville's lead from 17 to three.

After Arkansas cut the UofL lead to 48-45, Louisville finally came to life with a back-cut lay-up by Delk with 15:20 to go for the Cardinals first points of the second half. That bucket ignited a 10-0 run over the next two minutes that pushed the lead to 58-45 after a layup by Delk with 13:20 left.

A three point play by Arkansas' Julysses Nobles paused Louisville's run, but the Cardinals scored the next seven points to take a 65-48 lead after a three by Jerry Smith and layups by Sosa and Kyle Kuric. The teams traded baskets until the 10:45 mark when Louisville was up 68-52 after a layup by Arkansas' Jemal Farmer.

The Cardinals scored 17 of the next 21 points to take a commanding 85-56 lead. In all, after Arkansas made their run to start the second half, Louisville outscored the Hogs, 37-11 to break the game open. After building an insurmountable lead, the Cardinals finished the game with four freshmen and walk-on Chris Brickley in the game to close out the 96-66 win.

Louisville hit 15 of 33 three pointers, outscoring the Razorbacks 45-9 from long-range. In addition to Delk's 20 points, Louisville got 17 points from Samardo Samuels, 14 from Smith, 11 from Knowles and 10 from Swopshire.

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