LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith scored 17 points apiece to pace six Louisville players in double figures as the Cardinals routed Western Kentucky 102-75 on Saturday.
Louisville avenged last season’s loss to the Hilltoppers by shooting 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field, including 60.6 in the second half, and converting 25 Western Kentucky turnovers into 36 points in the Billy Minardi Classic.
“Tonight our offensive aggressiveness was terrific,” Cardinals coach Rick Pitino said.
Samardo Samuels added 14 points and nine rebounds, while fellow center Terrence Jennings tallied 11 points off the bench as Louisville (7-3) outscored the smaller Hilltoppers 52-20 in the paint.
Jared Swopshire and Kyle Kuric added 10 points apiece for the Cardinals, who outrebounded Western Kentucky 37-28.
Steffphon Pettigrew scored 23 points to lead the Hilltoppers (5-4), who beat Louisville 68-54 in Nashville last November. A.J. Slaughter, who tallied 25 points in last season’s upset of the then-Top 5-ranked Cardinals, added 16 points.
“Just too many turnovers,” Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald said. “A typical Coach Pitino team, they continued to be aggressive, while we stayed kind of passive.”
Western Kentucky played without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Sergio Kerusch. The 6-foot-5 junior forward, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, broke his foot in practice on Friday. McDonald said the Hilltoppers are likely to be without Kerusch for six to eight weeks.
Louisville, which built a 45-30 halftime lead, made 15 of its 30 first-half shots as Sosa scored 11 points. The Cardinals had runs of 14-2 and 12-1 and scored 17 points off 12 Hilltoppers turnovers.
Western Kentucky’s mishandling of the basketball in the first half offset the Hilltoppers’ 52.4 percent (11-for-21) shooting, including 57.1 percent from 3-point range (4-for-7).
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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