• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Harrell lifts Louisville over Fairfield

Nov 23, 2013 - 10:47 PM Uncasville, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Louisville Cardinals to a 71-57 victory over the Fairfield Stags.

Chris Jones scored 15 points, while Wayne Blackshear scored 11 and Russ Smith and 10 points for third-ranked Louisville (5-0), which will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in Sunday's championship game of the Hall of Fame Tip-off.

Maurice Barrow scored 14 points and Marcus Gilbert added 11 points for Fairfield (1-4), which will face Richmond on Sunday.

Through the first 10:03, the two teams seemed to be getting a feel for one another as the score was locked at a 9-point tie. Just under five minutes later each team had doubled or more their points total.

The first ended with the score 37-23 in Louisville' favor. The half saw tight play throughout, the Cardinals finished the half with a 14-point lead after Luke Hancock's layup with eight seconds remaining.

The second half began with the game within reach for Fairfield. Louisville continued to stretch their lead. The Cardinals went up 21 points following a Harrell lay-up with 12:29 left in the second half.

Fairfield went on a 10-2 run that was highlighted by a dunk from Coleman Johnson with 10 minutes remaining, but Louisville would hold on to their lead.

Game Notes

This was the first meeting between the two teams ... Louisville is in the midst of a 21-game winning streak, the longest in program history ... Hancock scored nine points while Chane Behanan contributed eight points and six rebounds.