While University of Louisville basketball fans may have been concerned of a possible letdown following the Cardinals 65-56 over Kentucky, U of L head coach Rick Pitino stated during his Monday press conference that a letdown would not occur when his team faced Toledo. Coach was right. Despite falling behind early 5-2, Louisville used a 17-2 run to take control of the game and cruised to their eight win of the season with a 92-56 victory over Toledo.
“That was a devastating offensive performance,” said head coach Rick Pitino. “We had tremendous respect for Toledo, they are a good team. That is why we played so hard tonight.”
Otis George, who played a vital role in the win over Kentucky, sparked the Cardinals initial run when he connected on a three to push the Cardinals into a 10-5 lead. Francisco Garcia contributed an old-fashioned three point play and Taquan Dean added a three-pointer to cap off the run.
Senior Luke Whitehead led the Cardinals during the first frame connecting on all seven of his shot attempts for 17 points. Otis George added nine points, fueled by six made free throws. The team shot 53.6% from the field and outscored Toledo 15-6 on second chance points to build a 48-34 halftime lead.
Francisco Garcia, who had five points and three assists during the opening frame, left the game late in the first half due to a hyperextended knee. As the team returned to the floor for the second half Garcia remained in the locker room, but returned to the Cardinal bench with 15:30 remaining in the game.
“When we lost Francisco we had to have people step up and they did,” explained Pitino. “I was wondering how this team would respond. They responded like hungry tigers that hadn’t eaten in two weeks.”
Following back-to-back baskets by Toledo to pull within ten early in the second half, the Cardinals once again went on a run, which was ignited by a Dean three-pointer. A Whitehead dunk and a three-pointer by Larry O’Bannon gave U of L a 56-38 lead, which would continue to balloon throughout the second half.
The Cardinals would connect on 9 of 16 three-point attempts during the second half and shot 44.8% behind the arc for the game.
Nate Daniels &
Francisco Garcia (ITV) |
Junior college transfer Nate Daniels, playing in the place of the injured Garcia, led a barrage of three-pointers during the second half with five trifectas and finished 18 points. Four other Cardinals scored in double figures, led by the team high 19 by Whitehead, while Dean added fourteen, O’Bannon eleven and George ten.
Louisville scored 34 points off of 20 Toledo turnovers and the Cardinals bench totaled 34 points to just 18 for Toledo’s reserves.
The Cardinals will resume practice on New Year’s Eve, going past midnight, in preparation for Saturday’s home contest against former Cardinal assistant Mick Cronin’s Murray State squad.
VISITORS: TOLEDO 7-2
TOT-FG 3-PT
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA RBDS PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
34 TRIPLETT, Keith..... f 7-16 1-4 0-1 1 0 15 3 6 0 1 34
35 MILSON, Kareem...... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 12
15 PINSON, Allen....... c 2-10 0-2 1-2 8 4 5 0 1 1 0 29
21 INGRAM, Justin...... g 3-8 1-2 0-0 2 2 7 3 2 1 3 32
24 VILLEGAS, Sammy..... g 4-11 2-8 1-2 3 4 11 0 5 0 1 25
05 RUSSELL, Rashay..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 4
23 SHELTON, Chauncey... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4
31 HOWELL, Keonta...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 6
32 CURRIE, Anton....... 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 20
42 VALENCIA, Florentino 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 1 0 1 1 0 0 16
43 SHELLABARGER, A.J... 2-3 0-0 2-4 4 3 6 0 0 0 0 11
44 THOMAS, Ricardo..... 3-5 0-0 0-0 1 3 6 1 1 0 0 7
TEAM................ 1
Totals.............. 23-58 6-20 4-9 28 20 56 8 20 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-27 51.9% 2nd Half: 9-31 29.0% Game: 39.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 2-11 18.2% Game: 30.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 44.4% 2
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HOME TEAM: LOUISVILLE 8-1
TOT-FG 3-PT
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA RBDS PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
24 WHITEHEAD, Luke..... f 8-9 0-0 3-3 9 2 19 2 1 0 1 32
34 O'BANNON, Larry..... f 5-10 1-5 0-0 2 2 11 1 3 0 0 23
01 DARTEZ, Kendall..... c 0-4 0-0 2-2 3 4 2 1 1 3 0 14
05 DEAN, Taquan........ g 5-11 4-8 0-0 5 1 14 1 2 1 0 29
32 GARCIA, Francisco... g 1-4 0-2 3-3 3 1 5 3 2 0 2 14
0 TINCH, Joshua....... 1-2 1-2 0-2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2
04 DIAKITE, Nouha...... 0-0 0-0 0-2 3 0 0 2 2 0 0 9
11 JENKINS, Brandon.... 2-3 1-2 0-0 1 1 5 6 1 0 1 17
13 MOHAMMED, Alhaji.... 2-5 1-2 0-0 0 3 5 0 2 0 0 19
15 JOHNSON, Perrin..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
21 CURRENT, Chris...... 0-2 0-2 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
30 DANIELS, Nate....... 5-5 4-4 4-4 1 0 18 1 0 0 0 13
52 GEORGE, Otis........ 1-2 1-2 7-12 7 2 10 3 4 1 0 23
TEAM................ 3
Totals.............. 30-57 13-29 19-28 41 18 92 20 18 5 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-28 53.6% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 52.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 9-16 56.3% Game: 44.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 14-20 70.0% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 67.9% 4,1
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Officials: Tom O'Neill, Mike Sanzere, Kevin Mathis
Technical fouls: TOLEDO-None. LOUISVILLE-None.
Attendance: 19427
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
TOLEDO........................ 34 22 - 56
LOUISVILLE.................... 48 44 - 92
ID-216340
Points in the paint-TOL 20,LOU 24. Points off turnovers-TOL 23,LOU 34.
2nd chance points-TOL 6,LOU 17. Fast break points-TOL 0,LOU 4.
Bench points-TOL 18,LOU 41. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-1 time.
Last FG-TOL 2nd-00:30, LOU 2nd-00:06.