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No. 3 Louisville cruises past UMKC

Dec 5, 2013 - 4:51 AM Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Montrezl Harrell led a balanced Louisville attack with 14 points as the seventh-ranked Cardinals topped UMKC, 90-62, on Wednesday from KFC Yum! Center.

Chane Behanan tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds -- eight offensive -- while Chris Jones, Luke Hancock and Russ Smith all scored 10 points in the triumph, Louisville's (7-1) second straight after falling to North Carolina on Nov. 24. Smith added a career-best 11 assists.

"I thought Chane was the only player on the team that played real well tonight," said head coach Rick Pitino of his bunch. "I think some guys played mediocre, and some guys played OK, but I thought Chane really played well."

Nelson Kirksey and Martez Harrison netted 14 points apiece to lead UMKC (1-6), which has lost three in a row. The Kangaroos, who entered the tilt third in the nation averaging 10.8 steals per game, had just five.

Louisville opened up an 11-2 lead on Harrell's putback before the first media timeout.

Hancock extended the Cardinals' run moments later with a pair of free throws and a 3 at the 13:00 mark for a commanding 18-5 lead.

Louisville asserted its dominance offensively throughout the first half, eventually going in front by 21 points before UMKC finished the period on a 5-0 run. Louisville led 43-27 at the break.

Smith scored five points during a 7-0 Louisville charge midway through the second half, pushing the hosts' lead to 68-43.

The Cardinals rolled the rest of the way.

"Obviously going up against a caliber team like Louisville has was certainly a challenge for us," UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson said. "They are very good."

Game Notes

Louisville forced 20 turnovers while committing just nine ... The Cardinals won the rebounding margin, 49-29, and had 19 assists compared to UMKC's eight ... Louisville's bench contributed more than half (46) of the Cardinals' points.