Marquette University Athletics
Men's Basketball Takes Out #4 Louisville
1/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Steve Novak made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 30 points, and Marquette beat Louisville 77-70 Saturday in Rick Pitino's first game back with the Cardinals following a two-day medical leave.
Travis Diener added 17 points and seven assists as the Golden Eagles (13-5, 4-3 Conference USA) snapped No. 4 Louisville's 16-game winning streak. Novak also had eight rebounds.
Marquette also ended Louisville's 16-game winning streak at Freedom Hall, which dated to the Golden Eagles' 78-73 victory here last Feb. 27.
Pitino was as animated as ever on the sideline, three days after returning from a medical leave. He went to the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday to probe the cause of a pain that's persisted in his left side for months, causing him to miss the Cardinals' 64-48 win over Houston on Wednesday. He said tests revealed no serious problems.
Luke Whitehead had 14 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for Louisville (16-2, 6-1), which shot a season-low 33 percent (21-for-64) and went 5-for-34 from 3-point range (15 percent).
Cardinals leading scorer Francisco Garcia finished with 20 points, but also had eight turnovers. He sprained his ankle in Louisville's win at Tennessee last Sunday and was questionable for this game.
Taquan Dean, Louisville's top 3-point shooter who Pitino didn't expect to play, had four points on 1-for-5 shooting as he continued to recover from a pulled groin.
The Golden Eagles scored on four of their first five possessions after halftime to build a 40-31 lead and prompt a timeout by Pitino.
The Cardinals responded with a 10-0 run, capped by Brandon Jenkins' 3-pointer from the wing with 15:35 left. Novak hit a baseline jumper and a 3-pointer to restore Marquette's lead.
The Cardinals made one more surge, mounting a 9-0 run to take a 56-55 lead with 6:34 left. Novak sank another 3-pointer 20 seconds later and Scott Merritt hit a bank shot with 5:12 remaining as Marquette retook control.
Novak just beat the shot clock with his eighth 3-pointer, giving the Eagles a 66-57 lead with 3:47 left. The Cardinals got no closer than four the rest of the way.
The Golden Eagles missed eight of their first 10 shots, but trailed only 8-6 five minutes into the game. Novak sank a 3-pointer with 13:46 to give Marquette its first lead and trigger an 8-0 run.
The Cardinals went four minutes without a point before Alhaji Mohammed's baseline jumper with 12:10 left in the half. Louisville then held Marquette scoreless for five minutes during a 10-0 spurt.
Novak sank two 3-pointers during a 10-2 Golden Eagles' run over the next four minutes. Pitino screamed at his team during the next media timeout, throwing a clipboard onto the floor.
The Cardinals trailed only 30-27 at halftime despite going 1-for-16 from 3-point range in the first half. Dean and Garcia went a combined 1-for-8 with seven turnovers in the opening half.
Novak scored 16 points in the first half, but the rest of the Eagles went only 6-of-22 from the field.
