Jordan Nwora's 17 points led four double-figure scorers Sunday as No. 4 Louisville carved up visiting North Carolina Central with an efficient half-court offense in an 87-58 nonconference win at KFC Yum! Center.
Steven Enoch added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting for the Cardinals (4-0). Dwayne Sutton had 12 points and Darius Perry chipped in 11, plus seven assists.
Louisville hit 66.7 percent of its shots from the field and was 10 of 21 from the 3-point line, drawing assists on 20 of 30 made field goals.
Randy Miller Jr. scored 15 points to lead the Eagles (1-3), which dropped to 0-11 against Top 25 teams since joining Division I before the 2007-08 season. N.C. Central shot just 33.3 percent, including 6 of 26 on 3-pointers.
The margin stayed at 20 or more for nearly the entire second half as Louisville couldn't be slowed, even though N.C. Central kept its turnovers down to a reasonable 10. The Cardinals sank 68.2 percent of their second-half shots, pushing the lead as high as 32 points late in the game.
The Cardinals set an immediate tone by scoring the game's first eight points. Enoch canned a jump hook, followed by 3-pointers from Nwora and McMahon.
Sutton's trey from the right wing gave the Cardinals their first 10-point lead less than nine minutes into the game at 16-6. The Eagles fought and cut the deficit to nine on two occasions later in the half, but Louisville pulled away.
A 12-0 run over a 4:03 span, capped by two foul shots from Lamarr Kimble, upped the Cardinals' advantage to 36-15 at the 2:20 mark. Louisville ended the half with a 3-pointer from Perry for a 43-19 lead.
--Field Level Media
North Carolina Central | Louisville | |
Randy Miller Jr. 15 | Scoring | Jordan Nwora 17 |
Jordan Perkins 4 | Assists | Darius Perry 7 |
Jibri Blount 8 | Rebounds | Aidan Igiehon 7 |
Jibri Blount 6 | Free Throws Made | Lamarr Kimble 4 |
Jibri Blount 2 | Steals | Ryan McMahon 2 |
N/A | Blocks | Aidan Igiehon 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
North Carolina Central | 58 | 33.3 | 6-26 | 14-25 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
Louisville | 87 | 66.7 | 10-21 | 17-25 | 20 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 11 |