Wednesday, December 10, 2014
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Rozier, Jones carry Louisville to win over Indiana

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[December 10, 2014]  NEW YORK -- The Louisville backcourt of Terry Rozier and Chris Jones established career highs in scoring in the fourth-ranked Cardinals' 94-74 win over Indiana in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Rozier poured in 26 points and Jones scored 24 as Louisville won its ninth consecutive game at the Garden. Forward Montrezl Harrell added 21 points and 11 rebounds. He also recorded five dunks and is now tied with Pervis Ellison for the most slams in school history (162).

The Cardinals (8-0) continued to make themselves at home in the "World's Most Famous Arena." They prevailed for the 11th time in their past 12 games in the Garden, including the 2012 and 2013 Big East championships.

James Blackmon Jr. led the Hoosiers (7-2) with 18 points. The guard leads the nation's freshmen in scoring and 3-pointers made. Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell tossed in 13 points.

The Hoosiers took their last lead of the night at 52-48 on a layup by forward Troy Williams four minutes into the second half. Louisville then went on a 17-6 run to pull away. Jones led the Cardinals during the surge, scoring nine points. Indiana relented to the Louisville pressure, turning the ball over three times during the big run.

"We haven't been able to this style in a while, where you go up and down, up and down like a ping-pong match," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "We were more than happy to do it and it was exciting."

The Cardinals had not trailed past the 9:03 mark of the first half through their first seven games.

"We just wanted to keep the offensive pressure on them (Indiana)," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, "and our backcourt played great."

Louisville forced 19 turnovers and recorded 10 steals. The Cardinals held a 52-34 rebound advantage

"That was what relentless, attacking basketball looks like," said Indiana coach Tom Crean. "We had to be at a high level on the glass and we weren't.

"Offensively we weren't close to being what we needed to attack the ball. We settled a little bit, we didn't do a great job of keeping the ball in front of us and we have to play with a higher level of toughness and intelligence."

The Cardinals forced 13 first-half turnovers, leading to 13 points and a 46-41 halftime advantage. The score was tied five times in the half.

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Indiana closed within 30-29 with 8:25 left in the half but a 14-2 Louisville spurt made it 44-31 with 4:17 left. Harrell posted two monster dunks in the run. He led the Cardinals with 12 first-half points.

"I've said this before, I think Montrezl (Harrell) is the best player in the country," remarked Pitino. "He's the heart of our team. Very few guys play with a motor like he does.

"He plays every possession like he hasn't eaten in a week. He has a skill set like Kenneth Faried and (Dennis) Rodman in his prime."

NOTES: Louisville and Indiana have combined for eight national championships. ... The Cardinals' 103 victories over the last four years going into the Jimmy V Classic were the most in the nation during that stretch. ... Last season, Louisville reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the 20th time in school history, tied for the fourth most in the nation. ... The Cardinals began the night averaging 11.4 steals, fifth in the nation. ... The two schools hadn't met since February 2003 in a 17-game rivalry that started in 1921. Indiana claimed 10 of the first 16 meetings. ... Since 2011-12, Indiana leads all major conference teams in field-goal percentage (.479), 3-point field-goal percentage (.398) and free-throw percentage (.746). ... Louisville freshman Shaqquan Aaron has been suspended for the first nine games due to receiving extra benefits, and will be eligible to play his first game on Dec. 20.

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