Reginald Delk drained four three-pointers as part of his 20-point effort off the bench while Jared Swopshire posted 10 points and 11 rebounds, as the 20th-ranked Louisville Cardinals opened their 2009-10 season with a 96-66 victory over Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase at Scottrade Center.
No. 20 Cardinals Cruise To 96-66 Victory Over Razorbacks
Samardo Samuels scored 17 points and Jerry Smith added 14 for Louisville (1-0), which reached the Elite Eight last season. Head coach Rick Pitino had a somewhat tumultuous offseason personally, but the new campaign is now underway for his Cardinals, who went 16-2 in the Big East last season.
Rontei Clarke posted 16 points for Arkansas (1-1), which opened its season last week with a 130-68 win over Alcorn State. Marshawn Powell posted 15 points in the losing effort.
The action was tight throughout the first half. With under eight minutes remaining, Smith nailed a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 22-20 advantage, but on the following possession, Arkansas forward Michael Washington found room in the paint and his bucket from in close knotted the contest with 7:20 remaining.
Louisville scored the next five points, including a triple by Swopshire, but Jemal Farmer answered with a bucket soon after and the Razorbacks trailed 27-24 with just over five minutes to go before the break.
The Cardinals took control in the final minutes of the stanza with a 16-5 run. The spurt included three-pointers by Edgar Sosa, Swopshire and Delk, whose triple capped it for a 43-29 Louisville lead with 1:50 remaining.
Following a pair of free throws by Powell that brought the visitors within 43-31, Delk connected again from beyond the arc before two foul shots by Samuels sent the Cards into the locker room with a sizeable 48-31 lead.
Arkansas stormed out of the gate as the second half began. Within the first five minutes, the Razorbacks cut their deficit to 48-45 by scoring the first 14 points of the frame. Clarke’s three-pointer ignited the run and he followed it with another bucket moments later. A three-point play by Washington, a pair of layups by Powell and two free throws by Julysses Nobles completed the surge and brought Arkansas within three.
But the Cardinals woke up and started to pull away with a 29-8 run that covered a six-minute span. Delk, Smith and Preston Knowles all connected from three-point range during the run, and several other players contributed as Louisville took control. When Samuels drained a bucket with nine minutes remaining, Louisville led 77-53 and they never looked back.
Louisville now leads the all-time series, 4-3…The Cardinals won the battle on the glass, 47-36…Arkansas committed 16 turnovers, while Louisville was saddled with 10.
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