Louisville routs mistake-prone St. John's
St. John's Justin Brownlee shoots over Louisville's Preston Knowles during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game in Louisville, Ky. (Jan. 19, 2011) Credit: AP
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Preston Knowles scored 25 points, Kyle Kuric added 20 and No. 19 Louisville continued its torrid shooting in an 88-63 victory over St. John's last night.
Peyton Siva bounced back after being benched Saturday in a win over Marquette to score 10 points and hand out a career-high 10 assists as the Cardinals (15-3, 4-1 Big East) dealt the Red Storm (11-6, 4-3) its worst loss of the season.
The Cardinals shot 53 percent (33 of 62) from the field and made 12 three-pointers. They won easily despite playing without center Terrence Jennings, who has a hip injury.
Paris Horne led St. John's with 13 points, but the Red Storm turned it over a season-high 25 times and couldn't keep up when Louisville pushed the pace.
Four days after a stunning rally from an 18-point deficit in the final 5:44 against the Golden Eagles, Louisville made sure no such heroics were necessary against the Red Storm.
The Cardinals broke it open with a 19-2 run midway through the first half. Louisville's small lineup and full-court pressure flummoxed the Red Storm, who struggled dealing with the sea of hands in the passing lanes.
Louisville held St. John's without a basket for more than seven minutes during the burst, and often the Red Storm couldn't even get a shot off. One St. John's pass sailed over Louisville coach Rick Pitino's head, one went into the third row and another rolled past two Red Storm players and out of bounds.
