NCAA Game Summary - Cincinnati at Louisville

02.2.2005

Louisville, KY (Basketball News) - Taquan Dean scored 19 points and Juan Palacios chipped in 17, including a clutch three late, to lead ninth-ranked Louisville past 18th-ranked Cincinnati, 77-70, at Freedom Hall.

Palacios added 10 rebounds, while Ellis Myles chipped in 13 points with nine boards for Louisville (19-3, 7-1 C-USA), which has won eight straight and 13 of its last 14. Francisco Garcia scored 11 points before fouling out late for the Cardinals, who moved into first place in C-USA.

Eric Hicks paced the Bearcats with 21 points and eight rebounds. Nick Williams added 12, while James White netted 11 for Cincinnati (17-4, 6-2 C-USA), which shot 23-of-61 (37 percent) from the floor in the setback.

Trailing by five early on, Hicks’ dunk capped a quick 8-2 burst for Cincinnati, staking the Bearcats to a 16-15 lead with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half.

However, the lead was short-lived as the Cardinals answered with a 14-3 spurt, turning a one-point deficit into a six-point cushion. Back-to-back jumpers by Garcia ended the surge, giving Louisville a 25-19 cushion with around five minutes remaining in the stanza.

Louisville then carried a 38-31 advantage as both teams headed into the locker room. Garcia had a solid all-around first half, netting nine points, while dishing out three assists to go along with three rebounds for the Cardinals. Hicks led the Bearcats with 11 points at the break.

Cincinnati fought back and opened the second half on a 9-2 spurt to even up the contest. Jihad Muhammad’s three-pointer ended the run, making it 40-40 three minutes into the stanza.

The Cardinals, though, attempted to pull away with under nine minutes to go on Dean’s trey, making it 57-51. However, Cincinnati continued to hang around late, trimming the deficit to three, 67-64, on a free throw by Armein Kirkland at the 2:21 mark of the contest.

However, Palacios would bank home his only three of the night as the shot clock expired, stretching the lead to 71-64 with 1:15 remaining in the contest. The Bearcats never threatened from that point on en route to the seven-point loss.

The Bearcats ended 4-of-18 from beyond the arc, while the Cardinals finished 7-of-23...Louisville leads the all-time series, 49-37...Entering the game, Louisville’s margin of victory over its last seven games has been 32.9 points...The Cardinals have beaten the Bearcats four straight times at Freedom Hall.

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