National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 71, Fairfield 57
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 23, 2013
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Officials: # Bob Adams, # Brian O'Connell, # Wally Rutecki
Attendance: 8113

No. 2 Louisville 71, Fairfield 57: Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as the Cardinals overcame a sluggish start to extend their school-record winning streak to 21 games while also advancing to the championship game of the Hall of Fame Tipoff at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

Chris Jones scored a game-high 15 points, Wayne Blackshear had 11 points and All-American guard Russ Smith added 10 points and seven rebounds for Louisville (5-0). The Cardinals will face North Carolina, a 82-72 winner over Richmond, in Sunday's final.

Maurice Barrow scored 14 points off the bench and Marcus Gilbert added 11 points for Fairfield (1-4). The Stags made it competitive for most of the game despite committing 19 turnovers and getting outrebounded 47-33.

Louisville started slowly, scoring just one basket in the first seven minutes while falling behind 6-2. The Cardinals missed eight of their first nine field goals while also turning the ball over four times.

The Cardinals, behind nine points off the bench from reigning Final Four MVP Luke Hancock, rallied to take a 37-23 halftime lead, holding the Stags to just three field goals over an 11-minute stretch. Louisville opened the second half with a 14-5 spurt to increase its lead to 51-28 and coasted home from there.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville finished with 14 turnovers, snapping its seven-game streak of 10 of fewer turnovers. ... North Carolina leads the all-time series with Louisville, 8-3, and won the last meeting 83-73 in the NCAA Tournament East Regional final in Charlotte in 2008. ... The Cardinals, who came in ranked seventh in the NCAA in steals (12.5), finished with 11 thefts, including four by Jones.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisville   Fairfield
Chris Jones 15 Scoring Maurice Barrow 14
Terry Rozier 3 Assists Malcolm Gilbert 2
Montrezl Harrell 12 Rebounds Malcolm Gilbert 8
Luke Hancock 7 Free Throws Made Maurice Barrow 6
Chris Jones 4 Steals K.J. Rose 3
Stephan Van Treese 4 Blocks Malcolm Gilbert 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisville 71 38.3 2-14 23-31 9 43 7 11 14
Fairfield 57 34.0 5-15 20-30 6 28 4 7 19