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McGee leads Louisville past Jackson St

Nov 18, 2007 - 9:44 PM LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Andre McGee and Louisville is ready for a step up in competition.

McGee scored 18 points and the the sixth-ranked Cardinals pulled away in the second half for an 84-53 victory over Jackson State on Sunday.

After coasting to a 104-69 win over Hartford on Saturday, the Cardinals (2-0) struggled for a half before taking control against the Tigers.

McGee led the way against Hartford, making six 3-pointers and scoring 18 points. The junior guard also paced the Cardinals Sunday, drilling four shots from the arc in the first half that ended with Louisville holding a 36-25 lead.

Overall, McGee made 6-of-10 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Last season, McGee averaged just 2.6 points.

Holding a 41-32 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining, the Cardinals used a 19-7 surge to take control. Earl Clark scored 10 of his 18 points during the burst.

After making 22 3-pointers in Saturday's win, the Cardinals only converted six attempts from the arc Sunday.

The win did come at a price for the Cardinals as senior forward-center David Padgett suffered a bruised left knee in the first half.

This marked the second game of the Las Vegas Invitational for the Cardinals, who were beginning a stretch of five games in eight games.

Louisville travels to Las Vegas to take on UNLV on Wednesday before playing the final two games of the tournament. One of the games could be a meeting against top-ranked North Carolina.

Darrion Griffin scored 15 points to lead Jackson State (0-4), which has lost its four games by an average of 27.2 points.

The Tigers shot just 31 percent (20-of-64).