The Sports Xchange
Dec 6, 2017
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After muddling along to a three-point halftime lead against seriously outmatched Siena, Louisville used a 18-0 second-half run to blow out the Saints 86-60 on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals (5-2) got 17 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks, all career highs, from Anas Mahmoud.
Louisville also got 16 points from Quentin Snider, 11 from freshman Jordan Nwora, and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Ray Spalding.
Siena (2-6) was led by Nico Clareth and Sammy Friday, who scored 15 points each. Friday also grabbed 15 rebounds.
Louisville had nearly as many turnovers (11) as field goals (13) in the first half. Siena took full advantage, scoring 14 points off turnovers. The Saints also outrebounded the Cardinals in the first half.
Siena led Louisville by as many as four points and still was up 31-2 with 4:34 left before halftime when Louisville came alive.
The Cardinals' 18-0 run started five minutes into the second half after Siena cut Louisville's lead to 48-47.
A Mahmoud layup and then a dunk sparked the run that also included dunks from Spalding and freshman Darius Perry and a 3-pointer by Perry.
Louisville led by as many as 32 points before closing out the 86-60 win. The Cardinals got 44 points in the paint and outscored the Saints 47-24 in the second half. The home team wound up with a 43-39 rebounding advantage.