Box Score Photo Gallery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Third-ranked Louisville defeated the University of Hartford men's basketball team, 87-48, in front of 20,226 fans packed into the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday night. The second contest featured in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament, the Hawks close out the annual four-game event this weekend with a pair of games at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Louisville (4-0 overall) shot an even 50 percent on the night and had four players finish in double figures in scoring. Held to just one field goal in the first half, Montrezi Harrell went 8-for-10 in the second to finish with a game-high 20 points. Russ Smith added 14 points while Chris jones and Chane Behanan rounded out the defending national champ's top-scorers with 11 each.

Hartford (2-3 overall) shot 41.9 percent from the floor including 50.0 percent in the second half, but converted on just 4-of-17 attempts from behind the arc. After making three three-pointers to start, Louisville took away the Hawks' perimeter game, conceding just one triple in the final period.

Scoring 11 points in the second half, junior Mark Nwakamma led the Hawks with 16 points. Also finishing in double-figures was redshirt sophomore Yasin Kolo. Grabbing a team-best eight rebounds, he scored 12 points on a 3-of-6 effort from the field.

Hartford spotted Louisville eight quick points – all layups – before getting on the scoreboard. Junior Yolonzo Moore II and sophomore Evan Cooper cut into the early deficit by sinking a pair of threes within a one minute span. Those triples made it a 10-6 contest before the Cardinals used a 10-0 run over the next 2:36 to open up a 14-point lead with 12:09 to play in the first.

The Hawks then scored five of the next seven points to claw their way back. Junior Jamie Schneck hooked in a layup and Wes Cole drained a three-pointer the gap to 22-11, but Harrell's lone field goal of the opening half followed by three points from the charity stripe gave Louisville a 27-11 lead with 7:33 left.

The offense picked up for Hartford in the final minutes of the half as it netted 10 points before the break, including all five first-half tallies from Nwakamma. The Cardinals had answers, though, scoring 15 points of their own to take a 21-point advantage into the locker room at the half.

Louisville put the game beyond reach when it came out of the intermission on a 16-6 run to go up, 58-27, with 14:42 left. The Cardinals scored 26 points off 25 Hartford turnovers, the most for the Hawks in a single game this year.

Hartford's next opponent in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament will be Hofstra. The two teams will end a 13-year hiatus when they meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.