National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 51, Northern Iowa 46
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, November 22, 2012
Where: Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort, Nassau
Officials: # Duke Edsall, # Keith Kimble, # Doug Sirmons
Attendance: 3126

No. 2 Louisville 51, Northern Iowa 46: Russ Smith finished with 16 points as the Cardinals held off a late rally from the Panthers in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

Smith was the only player to finish in double figures for Louisville (4-0), which overcame 20 turnovers and will play No.14 Missouri in Friday's semifinals.

The Cardinals forced 12 consecutive missed shots and held the Panthers (3-1) scoreless for a 10:26 stretch after surrendering a jumper to open the second half, allowing Louisville to turn a six-point halftime advantage into a 40-22 margin.

However, Louisville could hit only score five points over a 10:13 span, giving Northern Iowa a chance to rally, which it did behind three consecutive 3-pointers during a 24-8 run that allowed them to move within two points with 43 seconds left.

But just as Northern Iowa appeared to have a shot to tie the game in the final seconds following a miss from Peyton Siva, Chane Behanan grabbed the offensive rebound and following a jump ball, Smith converted a three-point play off the subsequent inbounds pass with four seconds remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Northern Iowa’s 20 first-half points were a season-high against Louisville. … The Cardinals have held each of their four opponents to 54 or less points. … Louisville has forced at least 21 turnovers in three of its four games this season.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisville   Northern Iowa
Russ Smith 16 Scoring Marc Sonnen 11
Russ Smith 5 Assists Deon Mitchell 3
Gorgui Dieng 9 Rebounds Seth Tuttle 8
Russ Smith 3 Free Throws Made Jake Koch 6
Russ Smith 4 Steals Anthony James 2
Gorgui Dieng 3 Blocks Jake Koch 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisville 51 30.6 5-22 8-11 12 40 4 13 20
Northern Iowa 46 34.8 6-19 8-9 8 26 4 9 22