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University of Louisville
Western Kentucky
Cardinals Roll Over Western Kentucky, 93-63
December 04, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec 4, 2003
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Luke Whitehead scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead seven Cardinals in double figures, and Louisville routed Western Kentucky 93-63 Thursday night for its first victory of the season.
The Cardinals (1-1) more than made up for the overtime loss last weekend to Iowa that dropped them from their No. 17 ranking to one place outside the Top 25 by keeping Western Kentucky (0-4) winless.
Kendall Dartez, held scoreless in the opener, scored 13 for the Cardinals. Francisco Garcia, Alhaji Mohammad, Taquan Dean and Nate Daniels each had 11. Larry O'Bannon added 10.
The Cardinals hadn't played Western Kentucky since the Hilltoppers beat them 68-65 in Freedom Hall in December 2000, and these teams hadn't met on a neutral court since the 1952 NIT in New York.
But the Cardinals agreed to play here, 59 miles south of Western Kentucky's home in Bowling Green, Ky., to fulfill their end of a home-and-home contract that began in 2000-01.
Louisville started slowly, hitting only four of its first 11 shots. Western Kentucky, with its fans filling about half of the 12,120 in attendance, even led 17-11 as Nigel Dixon scored underneath halfway through the first half.
The Hilltoppers last led 28-27 on another bucket by Dixon.
Then Whitehead started the Cardinals on an 18-2 run with a pair of free throws, Mohammad added another pair and Dean hit a 3-pointer from the right corner for a 34-28 halftime lead.
Louisville picked up where it left off, hitting six of its first nine shots in the second half. Mohammed finished the spurt with a dunk for a 45-30 edge with 17:34 left in the game, and the Cardinals just kept adding to their lead to win for the 17th time in 19 games in this series.
They led twice by 33, the last on a 3-pointer by Nate Daniels with 9.9 seconds left.
The Cardinals lost starting center Otis George with 5:40 left in the first half to a bruised hip. George went up to block a shot near the basket, was bumped and landed awkwardly on his side.
Dixon finished his second game this season with a team-high 15 points. Mike Wells added 14 for the Hilltoppers followed by Antonio Haynes with 13 and Anthony Winchester had 10.
