Recap: Louisville vs. Appalachian St
Sports Network | November 23, 2009
Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Samardo Samuels led four Cardinals in double-figures with 16 points, and 16th-ranked Louisville rolled over Appalachian State, 80-53, to remain perfect on the young season.
Preston Knowles and Edgar Sosa added 11 points apiece for the Cardinals (4-0), who have won each of their games by an average of nearly 20 points. Jared Swopshire added 10 points and nine boards, while Rakeem Buckles pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.
"I thought we did a terrific job tonight for the third game in three nights," said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. "What we wanted to do was improve in all three games, and we did."
Donald Sims led all scorers with 19 points for the Mountaineers (2-3), who have lost three of four. Jeremi Booth came off the bench to add 14 points, while Ryann Abraham netted nine points in defeat.
"It's been a long trip for us -- Arkansas Friday and then up here to Louisville," said Appalachian State head coach Buzz Peterson. "I'll say this, as the game went on, we wore down, especially with Louisville's size inside."
Appalachian State kept the game close early, as Abraham's three tied it, 11-11, five minutes into the contest.
Louisville, though, subsequently went on a 12-0 run to take control. Jerry Smith began the burst with a layup, Sosa added a three-point play, and Terrence Jennings' dunk with 11 minutes left finished it off.
The Mountaineers got within 25-23 on the heels of a 10-0 run capped by an Isaac Butts layup with six minutes left, but the Cardinals finished the half on an 8-2 surge to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room after Samuels' free throw.
Louisville scored the first six points of the second half to increase its lead to 45-30 on Samuels' jumper, and Appalachian State was unable to make a dent in its deficit. It became 66-44 with eight minutes left on a Swopshire three, and the outcome was never in doubt from there.
Louisville dominated the boards, 37-26...The Cardinals shot 53.7 percent, while the Mountaineers shot just 34.0 percent...Buckles had six points.
