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Louisville Beats Cincinnati, Snaps Three-Game Skid
Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Samardo Samuels and Edgar Sosa each scored 14 points, as Louisville snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-60 win over Cincinnati in a Big East matchup at Freedom Hall.
Reginald Delk finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Peyton Siva donated 10 points for Louisville (13-7, 4-3 Big East), which regrouped after dropping an 80-77 decision at Seton Hall on Thursday. The Cardinals, who shot 44.2 percent from the field and 7-of-19 from three-point range, claimed their 1600th victory in school history.
The Cardinals improved to 53-39 over the Bearcats in the all-time series and are now 29-16 when playing in Louisville.
Lance Stephenson had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Cincinnati (13-7, 4-4), which was coming off back-to-back wins over South Florida and Notre Dame. The Bearcats, who also got 12 points apiece from Cashmere Wright, Deonta Vaughn and Yancy Gates, have dropped three of their last five overall. Cincinnati finished 43.4 percent from the field, including 10-of-20 from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati set the tone in the early going and went ahead 15-4 after Stephenson drained a three-pointer just over six minutes in. Stephenson accounted for all 12 of his points during the fast start.
Rashad Bishop's two free throws put the Bearcats up 23-14 with 8 1/2 minutes left, before Louisville closed the half on a 17-7 run and took a 31-30 lead heading into the locker room.
Samuels and Sosa each made a layup to open up the second half to stretch the Cardinals lead to a modest 35-30 score, but the advantage ballooned to 12, 52-40, following another Samuels layin at the midway point.
Louisville played the frontrunner the rest of the way, despite the Bearcats closing to within a 54-52 margin after a pair from the stripe by Wright. The Cardinals answered by scoring the next seven to go up 61-52 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining and they held on down the stretch.
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