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University of Louisville
Seton Hall
Men's Basketball Holds Off Seton Hall, 60-51
January 28, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2012
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Louisville-Seton Hall Box Score 
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Russ Smith scored 14 points and Louisville, which led by 17 points in the second half, held off Seton Hall 60-51 on Saturday night for its third straight win.
The Cardinals (17-5, 5-4 BIG EAST) took a 38-21 lead with the opening basket of the second half. They saw the Pirates (15-6, 4-5) get as close as 55-51 in the final minute before the Cardinals made five of six free throw attempts over the final 51 seconds.
Jordan Theodore had 18 points for Seton Hall, which dropped its fourth straight overall and second in a row at home.
Gorgui Dieng and Chris Smith both had 11 points for Louisville.
Herb Pope added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates.
Both teams struggled from the field in the second half with Louisville going 6:20 without a field goal for one stretch while Seton Hall went 7:03 without one. The shooting droughts covered a lot of the same time, leaving a long stretch where both teams managed just two free throws each.
Pope had five points in a 12-2 run that got the Pirates within 55-51 with 56 seconds left, but they missed their last four shots from the field while the Cardinals were closing with the good free throw shooting.
Seton Hall finished the game 16 of 58 from the field (27.6 percent) and was 3 of 18 from 3-point range.
The Cardinals shot 45.4 percent for the game (20 of 44), but committed 24 turnovers that led to 23 Seton Hall points.
This was Louisville's first week of the season when it wasn't ranked in the Top 25. The Cardinals were No. 9 in the preseason poll and rose as high as No. 4 with their 12-0 start, but they fell out of the rankings last week after a stretch where they lost five of seven.
The Pirates had won four straight before the current four-game losing streak. They joined the Top 25 for the first time since 2001 but fell out after one week.
Louisville took a 21-6 lead with 7:54 left in the first half because the Pirates missed 14 of their first 17 shots and committed six turnovers. They did get within 25-17 with 3:54 left on a layup by Fuquan Edwin but the Cardinals closed the half on an 11-4 run to go up 36-21.
Seton Hall finished the half shooting 28 percent (7 for 25), including making one of 10 3-point attempts. The Pirates came into the game second in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting (36.5).
Louisville shot 48.3 percent (14 for 29) in the half and was 4 of 10 from behind the arc.
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was an assistant to Rick Pitino for six seasons at Louisville and is now 0-3 against his former boss.
