National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 50, Cincinnati 44
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 10, 2012
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Brian O'Connell, # Jim Burr, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 20057

Louisville 50, Cincinnati 44: Riding an airtight defense for the fourth consecutive day, the Cardinals held off a late flurry by the Bearcats to win their second Big East tournament crown in the last four years.

The seventh-seeded Cardinals (26-9) saw a 16-point cushion whittled to four, 48-44, over the final eight and a half minutes, but Cincinnati's Jaquon Parker missed a pair of foul shots with 30 seconds left to effectively kill the comeback bid.

The fourth-seeded Bearcats (24-10) hurt themselves at the line all night, making 1 of 7 attempts while Louisville was 11 for 12.

Louisville trailed briefly in the early going, 6-5, before taking the lead for good with a 9-0 run midway through the first half.

The Cardinals held Cincinnati to 25 percent shooting in the first half to take a 24-14 edge into the break. Another 10-0 burst in the second half made it 44-28 with 8:31 before the Bearcats began their final push.

Chris Smith hit 3 of 6 3-pointers and scored 15 points for Louisville, which emerged victorious despite shooting only 35.4 percent (17 for 48) from the floor.

Cashmere Wright led Cincinnati with 16 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
It was the lowest-scoring final in Big East tournament history. ... Louisville's Peyton Siva was named the tournament's most outstanding player. ... The Cardinals are 10-5 all-time in the Big East tournament, having reached three title games since 2009. ... Cincinnati had won three straight games against Louisville.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisville   Cincinnati
Chris Smith 15 Scoring Cashmere Wright 16
Peyton Siva 5 Assists Dion Dixon 2
Gorgui Dieng 10 Rebounds Jaquon Parker 7
Russ Smith 4 Free Throws Made Yancy Gates 1
Russ Smith 3 Steals Ge'Lawn Guyn 2
Gorgui Dieng 3 Blocks Justin Jackson 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisville 50 35.4 5-14 11-12 11 33 4 4 14
Cincinnati 44 39.2 3-14 1-7 6 26 7 7 11