Cold-shooting Cards ride defense past San Francisco

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville coach Rick Pitino warned his team there would be nights like this.

The 24th-ranked Cardinals shot only 36.1 percent from the field -- leading scorer Mike Marra was 1-for-10 -- and led San Francisco by one point at halftime. They persevered because of their defense.

Louisville outscored the Dons 36-11 in the second half on its way to a 61-35 victory in front of 21,049 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Peyton Siva and Terrence Jennings both scored 14 points for the Cardinals (7-0), who host No. 20 UNLV (9-0) on Saturday. Both players were 5-for-8 from the field, but their teammates shot a combined 12-for-45 (26.7 percent).

"Coach said, 'Sometimes the shots don't go in,' " said Jennings, a 6-foot-10 junior center who grabbed nine rebounds. "We knew we had to keep playing defense, keep getting stops. ... Sometimes there's a lid on the rim. You have to expect that and try to get stops as much as possible."

The Cardinals led 25-24 at halftime against the undermanned Dons (3-5) before holding them to five field goals in the second half.

Siva fueled a 16-0 run by Louisville, hitting two 3-pointers and assisting on an inside basket early in the second half. The Cardinals cruised from there.

Chris Smith scored 11 points and Preston Knowles 10 for Louisville, which committed a season-low five turnovers while forcing 16 to outscore San Francisco 21-0 in points off turnovers.

The Cardinals held the Dons to 31.1 percent (14-for-45) shooting from the field, including 21.7 percent (5-for-23) in the second half.

"What I told them at halftime is there is always a tournament game when shots aren't falling and you are going to have to win it with defense," Pitino said. "And they did it in the second half; they won it with defense. Peyton Siva gave us a big run off his defense, and we were able to extend the lead."

Michael Williams led San Francisco with 14 points.