Louisville 63 - 55 Miami
Final
  for this game

No. 9 Louisville holds off Miami

Feb 4, 2015 - 5:53 AM Coral Gables, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Rick Pitino's salt-and-pepper scruff will remain.

Terry Rozier had 22 points and six rebounds, Montrezl Harrell added 16 points and eight boards and No. 9 Louisville defeated Miami-Florida 63-55 on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals began growing "rally beards" following their loss to Duke on Jan. 17, something the team also did last season. They've won four straight since and don't plan on seeing a razor until they lose again.

Louisville (19-3, 7-2 ACC) shot a scorching 68.2 percent (15-of-22) in the first half and held on over the final 20 minutes despite hitting on just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) of their attempts in the second.

"We kept the crowd out of the game and controlled tempo," Pitino said. "That's what we were trying to do."

Chris Jones posted 16 points, eight boards, six steals and five assists in the triumph and Wayne Blackshear was the only other Cardinals player to score, netting seven points.

Davon Reed knocked down 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 19 points, while Tonye Jekiri recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds for the slumping Hurricanes (14-8, 4-5), who have dropped three straight.

"We couldn't stop them," Miami head coach Jim Larranaga said. "And we need to shoot the ball better."

The Cardinals led by as many as 13 in the first half and again in the second, but Reed nailed three of 3-pointers during a 9-0 Hurricanes run to get them within 41-37 with 12:57 remaining in the game.

After an Angel Rodriguez jumper and two free throws trimmed the gap to 53-50 with 2:06 left, Blackshear drove the paint and hit a floater and Jones split a pair of foul shots to up the margin to six.

Louisville made 7-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the outcome.

Harrell recorded a three-point play and nailed a jumper during the early stages of the game as the Cardinals raced out to a 14-4 advantage

They headed into the break with a 35-26 spread.

Game Notes

Louisville and Miami hadn't met in more than eight years. The Cardinals won that encounter 82-59 on Dec. 23, 2006 ... Louisville shot 47.9 percent (23- of-48) from the floor overall.






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