National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 87, Savannah State 26
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, November 24, 2014
Where: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Officials: # Louis Andrakakos, # Brian Dorsey, # Ron Tyburski
Attendance: 19514

No. 5 Louisville 87, Savannah State 26: Montrezl Harrell scored 15 points and the host Cardinals did not allow a point for the first 15 minutes, 58 seconds in the Global Sports Showcase.

By the time Saadiq Muhammad made a free throw for Savannah State (2-3) with 4:02 remaining in the first half, Louisville (4-0) had built a 29-0 advantage. The Cardinals forced 16 first-half turnovers as the Tigers missed their first 23 shots from the field, racing to a 41-7 halftime lead.

Wayne Blackshear added 13 points for Louisville and Terry Rozier finished with 11 points. Alante Fenner scored eight points to lead Savannah State, which finished the night 10-for-51 from the field and missed all 16 of its 3-point attempts.

The Cardinals actually struggled themselves offensively in the opening minutes, misfiring on 10 of their first 14 shots. But Chris Jones’ 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining in the opening half ignited Louisville, as Rozier followed with a layup, Jones hit another 3-pointer and the Cardinals were off and running with Mangok Mathiang’s basket with 4:31 to play extending the lead to 29-0.

Muhammad hit the first of two free throws to finally put the Tigers on the scoreboard, and Khaleen Pinkett’s jumper with 1:26 to go before intermission broke Savannah State’s shooting drought and made it 37-5. The Cardinals scored the first 10 points of the second half and pushed the lead to 69-12 on Chinanu Onuaku’s layup midway through the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Impressive as it was, Louisville’s first-half effort was not a record – Duke held North Carolina scoreless in the first half of a Feb. 24, 1979 contest; since the advent of the shot clock starting in 1985-86, South Florida holds the record by limiting Rice to two first-half points on Nov. 30, 1997. … Louisville coach Rick Pitino recorded his 699th career victory. … The five-team, round-robin Global Sports Showcase continues Wednesday when the Cardinals host Cleveland State, which lost 87-83 in overtime to Savannah State on Saturday.
Top Game Performances
 
Savannah State   Louisville
Alante Fenner 8 Scoring Montrezl Harrell 15
Alante Fenner 1 Assists Quentin Snider 3
Alante Fenner 6 Rebounds Montrezl Harrell 9
Alante Fenner 2 Free Throws Made Montrezl Harrell 7
Terel Hall 3 Steals Anton Gill 4
Khalen Pinkett 2 Blocks Chinanu Onuaku 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Savannah State 26 19.6 0-16 6-12 3 26 4 11 26
Louisville 87 52.5 8-20 17-30 17 53 8 16 17