No. 6 Louisville 80, College of Charleston 38: Wayne Blackshear scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half as the Cardinals cruised to victory in their first true road game of the season.
Russ Smith had 13 points and Peyton Siva added 12 points and five steals for sixth-ranked Louisville (7-1), which survived a scare from the Cougars last year before escaping with a 69-62 victory.
Tuesday's tilt wasn't nearly as close as the Cardinals jumped out of the blocks in a hurry with a 12-3 lead. Smith drained six straight free throws and tacked on a jumper to highlight a two-minute surge for Louisville.
Siva took up for his backcourt mate with a six points in just over 2 1/2 minutes as the Cardinals seized a 36-16 advantage at halftime.
Adjehi Baru collected a team-high 14 points and 14 rebounds for Charleston (5-3), which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville, which played four home games, competed in three neutral-site contests at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. ... The Cardinals were playing their third game without shot-blocking center Gorgui Dieng, who is sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a broken left wrist. Stephan Van Treese picked up the slack on the boards with a team-high 10 rebounds. ... Louisville made 13 of its 14 free-throw attempts during the first half. The Cardinals went 18-for-20 for the game.
Louisville | Charleston | |
Wayne Blackshear 18 | Scoring | Adjehi Baru 16 |
Russ Smith 4 | Assists | Anthony Stitt 2 |
Stephan Van Treese 10 | Rebounds | Adjehi Baru 14 |
Russ Smith 7 | Free Throws Made | Adjehi Baru 2 |
Peyton Siva 5 | Steals | Adjehi Baru 2 |
Montrezl Harrell 2 | Blocks | Adjehi Baru 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Louisville | 80 | 45.3 | 4-14 | 18-20 | 12 | 35 | 3 | 18 | 7 |
Charleston | 38 | 34.8 | 2-15 | 4-10 | 5 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 27 |