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Louisville blows past FIU

Dec 20, 2012 - 6:22 AM Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Wayne Blackshear posted 18 points and eight rebounds as No. 5 Louisville cruised to a 79-55 win over Florida International on Wednesday.

Peyton Siva gave 15 points and 12 assists while Chane Behanan added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals (10-1), who have won five straight. Russ Smith donated 14 points in the win.

Tymell Murphy had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Panthers (3-5), who have dropped their past two. Malik Smith had nine points in the loss.

This game saw a father/son battle, though it was on the bench, as Louisville head coach Rick Pitino squared off against his son, Richard Pitino, who was guiding Florida International.

"I didn't even know he was down there during the game. I was just trying to get our team ready because we are going to be thrown into the fire and we have to improve and we are running out of time," Rick Pitino said about coaching against his son.

Louisville led this game from start to finish and consecutive 3-pointers from Blackshear and Siva gave the team a 13-6 lead five minutes in.

A 10-2 run later in the half saw the Cardinals take a 31-19 edge after Siva followed Smith's 3-pointer with a long-ball of his own with five minutes to play in the half.

Blackshear's third 3-pointer of the half came in the closing seconds to give the team a 41-27 lead at the break.

Louisville scored the first four points of the second half for a 20-point lead and its advantage never dipped below 17 the rest of the way.

"Certainly they are one of the best teams in the country and we knew that coming in. There were a lot of things we had to do defensively due to their size and talents," Richard Pitino said. "Give them credit, they are an unbelievable team."

Game Notes

Louisville plays at Western Kentucky on Saturday ... Louisville has won both meetings with FIU with the other victory coming in 2010 ... Louisville hit 49.2 percent of its shots and had 23 assists on 31 baskets ... The Golden Panthers made just 33.3 percent of their shot attempts.