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No. 2 Louisville throttles Miami-Ohio in early tune-up

Nov 19, 2012 - 12:47 AM Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Russ Smith scored a game-high 23 points on Sunday, as the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals cruised to an 80-39 triumph over Miami-Ohio at KFC Yum! Center.

Wayne Blackshear followed with 14 points, while Gorgui Dieng donated 11 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals (3-0), who have won each of their first three games by at least 26 points.

"People have been harping on our shooting the whole time," Cardinals guard Luke Hancock said, "but when we're getting open looks and running the floor as a team, we can make shots."

Bill Edwards and Geovonie McKnight each scored seven points to lead the way for the RedHawks (1-2), who were throttled by sixth-ranked NC State in their season opener before defeating Grambling State.

"Obviously they did a terrific job," RedHawks coach John Cooper said of the Cardinals. "They were just so much better than we were. Of course, we couldn't score but I attribute most of that to their defense, certainly."

Miami-Ohio kept it close early, as a Reggie Johnson jumper knotted the game at 10-10 just over six minutes in, but the Cardinals scored the next 10 points and never looked back.

Jon Harris stopped the run with a layup, but Smith buried back-to-back 3- pointers to spark a 16-1 surge that built Louisville's lead to 36-13.

The Cardinals carried a 39-17 lead into the locker room and netted the first 10 points of the second half to press their advantage to 32.

The lead reached 48 at its peak later in the second half.

Game Notes

Louisville has won all four meetings with Miami-Ohio ... The RedHawks shot 29.8 percent from the field ... The Cardinals recorded 22 assists, compared to just six for Miami-Ohio.