National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 61, Seton Hall 55
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # Jim Burr, # Jeff Clark, # Wally Rutecki
Attendance: 20057

Louisville 61, Seton Hall 55: Peyton Siva scored seven of his 14 points during a decisive second-half run as the Cardinals advanced to the Big East tournament quarterfinals and left the Pirates hanging on the NCAA tournament bubble.

The seventh-seeded Cardinals (23-9) will face No. 2 seed Marquette in the quarterfinals on Thursday evening.

Louisville had a one-point edge at the break before opening the second half with an extended 16-4 surge to take a 39-26 lead with 13:06 remaining. Siva scored the final five points of the run on a dunk and a 3-pointer. The 10th-seeded Pirates (20-12) made a late push, getting as close as 59-55 with 48 seconds remaining, but they could not complete the comeback bid.

Seton Hall shot 56 percent in their opening-round win over Providence but didn't fare nearly as well Wednesday, making 17 of 52 (32.7 percent) from the field. Seton Hall made only 3 of 19 3-point attempts after a 9-for-19 effort Tuesday.

Kyle Kuric finished with 13 points for Louisville, while Gorgui Dieng added 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Jordan Theodore paced Seton Hall with 17 points, while Herb Pope contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville defeated Seton Hall for the second time this season, improving its all-time mark against the Pirates to 11-5. ... The Cardinals dropped their previous meeting with Marquette, taking a 74-63 road loss Jan. 16. ... Seton Hall fell despite a 42-30 rebounding advantage. ... The Pirates were 18 of 24 from the foul line, while Louisville was 17 of 30.
Top Game Performances
 
Seton Hall   Louisville
Jordan Theodore 17 Scoring Peyton Siva 14
Fuquan Edwin 3 Assists Peyton Siva 3
Herb Pope 15 Rebounds Gorgui Dieng 10
Jordan Theodore 7 Free Throws Made Jared Swopshire 5
Patrik Auda 1 Steals Peyton Siva 6
Herb Pope 2 Blocks Gorgui Dieng 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Seton Hall 55 32.7 3-19 18-24 7 36 3 2 17
Louisville 61 38.8 6-19 17-30 10 25 6 9 8