NCAA Game Summary - Louisville at Cincinnati

Cincinnati, OH (Basketball News) - Taquan Dean scored 25 points as 19th-ranked Louisville rallied to beat 18th-ranked Cincinnati, 69-66, in a wild C-USA encounter at Fifth Third Arena.

Dean ended 9-of-16 from the floor, including 7-of-13 from three-point land, for Louisville. Larry O’Bannon added 18 points for the Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 C- USA), who rallied from 17 points down early to steal this one. The Cardinals finished 10-of-25 from beyond the arc in the win.

Nick Williams paced the Bearcats with 18 points. James White added 15 for Cincinnati (14-2, 3-1), which suffered its first conference loss of the season. Jason Maxiell chipped in 11 in the setback.

Louisville, which trailed throughout the game, took a 67-65 lead on Juan Diego Palacios’ tip-in with 1:32 to go. Maxiell, who was then fouled at the other end, drained 1-of-2 from the line with 45 seconds remaining in the contest.

However, Francisco Garcia, who struggled from the floor throughout, found a wide open O’Bannon under the basket for an easy layin as the shot clock was winding down, giving the Cardinals a 69-66 lead with 11.7 seconds left. Garcia ended with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.

"It was a defensive breakdown," said Williams. "Obviously somebody lost their man. The game should not have come down ot that."

The Bearcats had one last chance at the tie, but Jihad Muhammad’s three-point attempt was off the mark and the Cardinals escaped with the win.

"This was a hell of a basketball game," said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. "We had to battle down a major deficit on the road and you have to have tough kids to do that."

Cincinnati wasted little time gaining control of the contest early, scoring 14 of the game’s first 17 points. Maxiell’s jumper ended the game-opening burst as the Bearcats owned a comfortable 14-3 lead with under 17 minutes remaining in the first half.

The margin would grow to 25-8 on White’s trey from the corner with under eight minutes left in the stanza. However, Louisville’s offense woke up and the Cardinals used a quick 7-0 surge to get back in the game. O’Bannon’s short jumper capped the spurt, cutting the margin to 25-15 with under six minutes remaining in the half.

The Bearcats would then carry a 35-24 lead as both teams headed into the locker room. White led the Bearcats with 10 points, while Dean paced all players with 14 points for Louisville at the break.

Garcia, who entered the contest averaging 18 points per game, ended scoreless in the first 20 minutes of play on 0-of-6 shooting from the floor for Louisville.

Cincinnati’s three-point shooting attributed to its lead as the Bearcats shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Louisville was 4-of-13 from three-point land in the first half.

Louisville fought back in the second half and pulled within 46-43 on Brandon Jenkins’ trey from the top of the key with around 14 minutes to go. The Bearcats were unable to pull away in the stanza and the Cardinals stayed close until Palacios’ big bucket gave them the lead for good.

"We could have easily held our heads, but the veterans on our team carried us," said Dean. "I knew they would step it up."