Senior point guard Christen Cunningham led four scorers in double figures with a season-high 17 points, lifting Louisville to a 83-70 win over Kent State on Saturday afternoon.
Junior forward Dwayne Sutton added 16 points for the Cardinals, while sophomore forward Jordan Nwora posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore center Malik Williams scored 13 points off the bench.
With the win Louisville (8-3) stayed unbeaten at home, improving to 7-0 at the KFC Yum Center.
Kent State (8-2) had its six-game win streak snapped.
The Cardinals shot 51 percent from the field and made 9 of 18 from 3-point range. The Golden Flashes shot 46.2 percent and were 11 of 24 from long range.
Cunningham, a Samford transfer, scored 12 points in the first half, helping Louisville jump to a 45-28 halftime lead. The Cardinals shot 58.3 percent from the field in the first half and made 6 of 9 3-point attempts.
A 22-foot 3-pointer by Cunningham at the end of the shot clock gave the Cardinals an early 25-17 edge. After Williams' 3-pointer put Louisville up 41-26, Cunningham scored the final four points for the Cardinals in the first half on a driving layup and a 12-footer in the lane. Cunningham made all four of his field-goal attempts in the first half.
Louisville led by as many as 24 points in the second half, going ahead 54-30 on a Cunningham three-point play. Kent State mounted a comeback attempt behind senior guard Jaylin Walker, who scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. Walker made 7 of 10 3-point attempts.
Senior guard Jalen Avery added 11 points and four assists for the Golden Flashes. Louisville, though, was too tough for Kent State to handle inside. The Cardinals outrebounded Kent State 34-27 and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.
--Field Level Media
Kent St. | Louisville | |
Jaylin Walker 28 | Scoring | Christen Cunningham 17 |
Jalen Avery 4 | Assists | Christen Cunningham 4 |
Jaylin Walker 6 | Rebounds | Jordan Nwora 10 |
Antonio Williams 4 | Free Throws Made | Christen Cunningham 6 |
Jaylin Walker 2 | Steals | Christen Cunningham 1 |
Philip Whittington 2 | Blocks | Steven Enoch 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Kent St. | 70 | 46.2 | 11-24 | 11-16 | 13 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
Louisville | 83 | 51.0 | 9-18 | 22-29 | 14 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 10 |