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University of Louisville
BELLARMINE
Louisville Tops Bellarmine 88-65 in Exhibition Finale
November 04, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2009
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sophomore forward Samardo Samuels notched a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Preston Knowles added 15 as the Louisville Cardinals earned an 88-65 exhibition win over Bellarmine University on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall. Justin Benedetti led the Knights with 21 points.
The Cardinals started the game on a 7-0 run. Benedetti hit a 3-pointer before the Cardinals went on another 5-0 run to take a 12-3 lead at the 15:33 mark. The Knights cut the lead to five after another Benedetti 3-pointer, keeping the game in reach until the Cards went on 7-0 run to take a 24-11 lead at the 10:43 mark. Bellarmine cut the lead to eight with a 3-pointer from Benedetti with 9:27 remaining in the half but the Cardinals pulled away for a 43-30 lead at the break.
Edgar Sosa finished with 12 points in the half for the Cards while Benedetti finished with 13 for the Knights. Louisville finished the first half shooting 53.1 percent while Bellarmine finished shooting 34.5 percent. The Cardinals outrebounded the Knights 24-14 in the half.
Bellarmine started the second half with a 4-0 run, cutting the lead to nine at the 18:30 mark. Back-to-back baskets by Samuels and Terrence Jennings put the Cardinals up 47-34 with 16 minutes remaining. The Cardinals' freshman Peyton Siva led a Cardinal run that started with a block and ended with a dunk to take a 63-45 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. Bellarmine got within 13 points but the Cardinals went on a 19-6 run to put the Knights away.
Louisville was able to experiment with different lineups on the evening. Three Cardinals finished with double digit scoring while 10 of the 13 players all got in the scoring column. Sosa finished with 12 points while Siva finished with nine points. Freshman Rakeem Buckles and sophomore Jared Swopshire finished with eight points apiece.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from behind the arc. Bellarmine shot 40.4 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc. Louisville held a 45-34 rebounding edge over the Knights.
The Cardinals will open their regular season on Nov. 17 against Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis, Mo.
