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Louisville beats UConn; Ollie ejected

Jan 19, 2014 - 6:31 AM Storrs, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - Montrezl Harrell had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the 18th-ranked Louisville Cardinals' 76-64 victory over the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday.

Russ Smith added 23 points for the Cardinals (16-3, 5-1 AAC), who have won three in a row. Luke Hancock tallied 13 points.

Shabazz Napier ended with 30 points for the Huskies (14-4, 2-3), who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Ryan Boatright donated 10 points.

UConn coach Kevin Ollie was ejected with 13:02 remaining in the second half after arguing a non-call.

With the Huskies trailing by nine, Ollie lost his cool after Niels Giffey was hit on a pump-fake by Louisville's Wayne Blackshear. Ollie started yelling at the officials and was immediately given a double technical. He was escorted off of the court by a police officer.

"In that situation, I lost my composure," Ollie said. "And I told my guys that. In the heat of the moment, you can't lose your composure. And I did that. We're going to move on from it, and we're going to get back to playing good basketball. I just thought it was a foul. We were down by nine, and Niels is a pretty good shooter. It happens."

Louisville led by as many as eight in the first half and took a 34-28 edge into the locker room.

UConn scored the first six points of the second half to tie the game, but Louisville responded with an 11-0 run. Hancock tallied six points during the surge that Smith capped with a three-point play, making it 45-34 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Huskies trailed 47-38 when Ollie was ejected. The Cardinals scored the next seven points to build a 54-38 margin.

Connecticut managed to get within 69-62 with 1:40 to play, but Louisville went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch.

"Our last three games, we're really starting to play good basketball. Our defense has picked up, our rebounding has picked up," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said.

Game Notes

Louisville holds a 9-6 edge in the all-time series with UConn ... Connecticut shot 35.2 percent from the field and went 8-of-23 from beyond the arc, while Louisville shot 45.6 percent from the floor and went 3-of-13 from three-point range ... The Cardinals outrebounded the Huskies by a 45-30 margin.