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University of Louisville
11-1
UTAH VALLEY
5-8
No. 16 Louisville Beats Utah Valley 98-68
December 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --Â Trey Lewis scored 21 points and No. 16 Louisville used a hot shooting start to coast to a 98-68 victory over Utah Valley on Wednesday night.
Louisville (11-1) made 18 of its first 24 shots and shot 69 percent from the field in the first half (20 of 29) to blow past Utah Valley, one night after an out-of-sync showing in beating UMKC.
Konner Frey led Utah Valley (5-8) with 17 points and Marcel Davis scored 15. Seven Cardinals scored at least eight points.
The Cardinals finished 31 of 56 (55 percent) from the field and hit nine 3s. Utah Valley shot 40 percent.
Louisville scored the game's first eight points in taking a 13-2 lead in the first 4 minutes. Utah Valley cut the lead to seven points on Ivory Young III's three-point play with 13:16 then Louisville went on a 12-2 run, capped by Donovan Mitchell's 3-pointer with 10:39 left in the half that made it 31-14. The Cardinals led 59-31 at halftime.
Louisville's 8-0 run following a drive by Davis to start the half made it 67-33 with 17:27 to play. Frey's 3 with 8:05 to play cut Louisville's lead to 80-51 before the Cardinals scored nine straight in less than 2 minutes. The Wolverines outscored Louisville 15-5 in the game's final 5 minutes.
Wednesday's matchup closed out the Billy Minardi Classic.
Lewis hit three 3s and finished 7 of 10 from the field, earning MVP of the four-team round-robin after leading Louisville with 17 points on Tuesday. The tournament is named after Louisville coach Rick Pitino's brother-in-law who was killed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
The return of 7-foot forward Anas Mahmoud bolstered Louisville's frontline. Mahmoud had missed the past three games with a sprained ankle but he made his presence felt early with four blocks in the first half. Pitino had said Tuesday that Mahmoud was likely out until the Cardinals' conference opener against Wake Forest on Jan. 3.
Louisville fans chanted ''Beat UK'' in the game's final minutes as the Cardinals face archrival Kentucky on Saturday in their final non-conference game before ACC play.
TIP-INS:
Utah Valley: The Wolverines had won three straight before losses on consecutive days. ... First-year coach Mark Pope is one of five former Pitino players who are active coaches in college.
Louisville: The Cardinals have started with at least a 10-1 record through 11 games for the sixth consecutive year. ... Louisville wore spearmint green Adidas shoes for the game, part of the company's Christmas collection.
UP NEXT:
Utah Valley visits Saint Mary's on Monday.
Louisville visits No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday.
