First-Half Burst Enough to Propel No. 16 Louisville Past Idaho, 78-59

Jerome Harmon scored eight points and Felton Spencer added seven to spark a 26-2 Louisville run late in the first half that buried Idaho 78-59 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.

Louisville (27-7) will meet Ball State (25-6) in the second round on Saturday. Ball State edged Oregon State 54-53 earlier Thursday.

The Cardinals’ balanced scoring attack saw Everick Sullivan lead the way with 18 points, followed by Spencer with 17, LaBradford Smith with 16 and Harmon with 15.

Louisville trailed 17-10 midway through the first half before taking charge on both ends of the court.

The 16th-ranked Cardinals, seeded fourth in the West, got a pair of fast-break baskets in running off 12 straight points for a 22-17 advantage.

After Sammie Freeman scored for Idaho, Louisville scored the last 14 points of the half, including a three-point play by Smith, for a 36-19 lead. The Vandals got no closer than 11 points in the second half.

Idaho, champion of the Big Sky Conference, had a 10-point run early in the game to open up a 16-8 lead, thanks to the inside scoring of Riley Smith, who had 10 of the Vandals’ first 12 points.

But Louisville then tightened up its interior defense, and Idaho never responded with any effective outside shooting.