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Kentucky rolls to win over Louisville

Jan 1, 2011 - 8:52 AM Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Brandon Knight and Josh Harrellson played a terrific inside-outside game together, combining for 48 points to carry No. 11 Kentucky to an emphatic 78-63 victory over 22nd-ranked Louisville.

Knight provided a game-high 25 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, while Harrellson donated 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats (11-2), winners of six straight since falling to North Carolina on December 4.

"I'm just proud of him," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said of Harrellson. "What I said to him after the game was he has taught me a great lesson. What we coaches like to do is just work with the good guys. The guys who struggle, sometimes you just push them aside. What he has shown me is every kid deserves everything we have to help them get better."

Terrence Jones filled the box score with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the victors.

Preston Knowles made six three-pointers en route to a 22-point effort to lead the Cardinals (11-2), who trailed by double digits through most of the second half to fall for the first time in four games.

With a bitter rival in town, the KFC Yum! Center crowd emanated excitement in the early going, and the frenetic start helped Louisville open up a 12-6 lead.

But Kentucky made its move at the 14-minute mark, silencing many of the home supporters.

Harrellson's three-point play ignited a 15-2 spurt, with Knight and Darius Miller each netting five points to give Kentucky the lead for good.

Late in the half, Doron Lamb hit a three-pointer for a 35-24 cushion, and the Cardinals missed the front end of a 1-and-1 twice down the stretch to keep it an 11-point game at the break.

"We felt if they were going to take away the perimeter shot on us then we had to go inside," Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said. "We only went inside four times and that was our Achilles' heel in the first half."

The Wildcats padded the margin early in the second half with Knight and Harrellson both connecting from long distance on consecutive possessions for a 44-26 advantage four minutes in.

Knowles caught fire and scored 10 points in a little over two minutes, and his jumper pulled Louisville within 57-47 with nine minutes to play.

The hosts were never able to cut it to single digits, however.

Jones made a layup while getting fouled, and his free throw with under 5 1/2 minutes remaining made it a 69-52 contest that was never seriously threatened.

Game Notes

Kentucky leads the all-time series, 28-14, and has won five of the last seven meetings...Louisville's leading rebounder Rakeem Buckles broke his left index finger during practice on Thursday and will miss the next six weeks. He had averaged 8.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 11 games...Harrellson came in averaging 5.4 points per game...Kentucky won rebounding battle, 36-25...Chris Smith was the only other Cardinals player in double figures, scoring 15...Louisville's Rick Pitino coached eight years at Kentucky (1989-97) and led the program to the 1996 NCAA Championship...Kentucky next plays Penn on Monday before starting SEC play at Georgia on January 8...Louisville hosts Seton Hall to begin its Big East slate next Wednesday.