National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 79, No.Carolina A&T 48
When: 6:50 PM ET, Thursday, March 21, 2013
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials: # Mike Sanzere, # Mike Stuart, # Kurt Walker
Attendance: N/A

Louisville 79, North Carolina A&T 48: Russ Smith recorded 23 points and a career-high eight steals as the top-seeded Cardinals rolled over the Aggies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky.

Wayne Blackshear added 12 points for Louisville (30-5), which plays Colorado State in the Midwest Regional quarterfinals Saturday. The Cardinals forced 27 turnovers and shot 57.4 percent for their 11th consecutive victory.

Bruce Beckford scored 12 points to lead the way for North Carolina A&T (20-17), which beat Liberty in Tuesday's first round. The Aggies were 1-of-6 from 3-point range in the second half after draining 5-of-10 in the first.

Louisville forced 14 turnovers with full-court pressure and led by as much as 21 in the first half before settling for a 47-31 lead at the break. Smith led a balanced offense with nine points as the Cardinals shot 66.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

The Cardinals put the game away by scoring 14 straight points to take a 68-37 lead with 10:11 to go. Peyton Siva added six points and eight assists, while Gorgui Dieng had eight points and seven rebounds for Louisville.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville had double-digit steals for the 27th time in 35 games, finishing with a season-high 20. … North Carolina A&T dropped to 1-10 in NCAA games. … Louisville has won at least 30 games for the seventh time in program history.
Top Game Performances
 
No.Carolina A&T   Louisville
Bruce Beckford 12 Scoring Russ Smith 23
Lamont Middleton 3 Assists Peyton Siva 8
Bruce Beckford 4 Rebounds Gorgui Dieng 7
Bruce Beckford 4 Free Throws Made Wayne Blackshear 3
Jeremy Underwood 2 Steals Russ Smith 8
N/A Blocks Gorgui Dieng 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
No.Carolina A&T 48 41.5 6-16 8-10 7 19 0 8 27
Louisville 79 57.4 4-16 13-22 14 28 2 20 16