Louisville Cardinals beat Long Beach State 49ers 79-66 - NCAA Basketball Recap
Louisville Cardinals have looked solid in the NCAA Basketball Tournament 2011so far and last night, they were no different as they extended their unbeaten record to 6-0 by overpowering Long Beach State 49ers, 79-66
It was not quite the performance, Cardinals coach expected from the players, but still, it was an easy win in the end.
Cardinals were in the driving seat throughout the game but at times looked rusty and allowed opponents to come back in the game, when they could have easily run them over.
The 49ers on the other hand failed to put enough pressure and grab the opportunities they got in the game, which is what their coach Dan Monson, also accepted in the end. He added
“We never put pressure on them to get a lead. They were always playing relaxed. When you have a good team like that playing relaxed, it's awfully tough to stop”
Although they lost with quite a margin in the end, but most of the 49ers performed on the night, which is a good sign for the team. Larry Anderson was the most impressive with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Casper Ware pounded 13 and
dished out 8 assists whereas James Ennis and T.J Robinson both scored 12 each.
For Cardinals, Chris Smith was the most outstanding player and drained game high 18 points on a near perfect shooting, knocking down 4 for 6 from the three-point range and 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Playing in his first
tournament, Chane Behanan added 13 and pulled down 7 rebounds whereas Peyton Siva and Jared Swopshire both ended with 10 each.
Louisville started aggressively with an 8-0 run to push the opponents on the back foot right from the start; however 49ers were up to the task and scored quickly to reduce the deficit. The next few minutes again belonged to Cardinals
as halfway through the first half; they managed to attain a 14 point lead 28-14.
Despite a quick burst from the other end in the following passage, Cardinals managed to maintain the double digit lead and ended the half ahead by 44-32.
Nothing changed for 49ers in the second half as they failed to bring the deficit down to single digits for the first ten minutes. However the Cardinals relaxed after maintaining the lead midway through the frame and allowed a passage
to 49ers to make a comeback. Taking advantage, they scored quickly and got close at 55-60 with five minutes remaining.
But, they never managed to get ahead at any instance. Cardinals, aware of the proceedings, scored in quick succession again to regain their double digit lead and managed to maintain it until the final buzzer
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