Cardinals pull fast one on Hoyas

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville found a way to rattle Georgetown, shaking up the Big East Conference in the process.

David Padgett scored 18 points, Jerry Smith had 16 and the Cardinals raced past the sixth-ranked Hoyas, 59-51, Saturday night.

Louisville (18-6 overall, 8-3 Big East) held Georgetown (19-3, 9-2) to 20 points in the second half, ending the Hoyas’ six-game winning streak by playing the kind of clampdown defense that has become Georgetown’s trademark.

The Cardinals held the Hoyas to 35% shooting in the second half, keeping the Hoyas without a basket for a decisive eight-minute stretch during which the Cardinals took command.

Austin Freeman and Roy Hibbert led Georgetown with 14 points apiece, but the Hoyas fell apart during an uncharacteristically sloppy second half.

Louisville harried Georgetown with its press, forcing the normally deliberate Hoyas into 15 turnovers.

Georgetown, which led, 33-23, early in the second half, managed one last threat, getting to within 54-49 on a runner by Jonathan Wallace with 52 seconds remaining.

But Padgett made two late free throws and the Cardinals had their first signature win of the season.