Louisville Struggles but Wins

Louisville Coach Rick Pitino wanted a tuneup before the Maui Invitational. Division II Brigham Young Hawaii provided much more.

Taquan Dean and Larry O’Bannon each scored 18 points and the No. 14 Cardinals rallied at Laie, Hawaii, to beat the Seasiders, 89-79, Saturday in their season opener.

“I wanted this game to prepare us for the Maui [tournament],” Pitino said. “They were a scary opponent to play with your first game. We knew we had to play our hearts out to get a victory.”

The Cardinals play Iowa in the first round of the tournament Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The game also marked the return of Pitino to Hawaii. He began his coaching career at Hawaii as a graduate assistant in 1974-75 and was an assistant coach in 1975-76.

The Cardinals, trailing, 45-38, in the second half, used tough defense to battle back. They scored 15 points off 12 turnovers in the second half.

The Seasiders (2-1) closed to within 80-77 with 2:36 left but couldn’t get closer. The Cardinals closed the game with a 9-2 run.

No. 8 Connecticut 90, Buffalo 68 -- The Huskies began defense of their NCAA Division I title with overpowering post play and a crisp transition game at Storrs, Conn.

They wasted little time putting this one away. Rashad Anderson and Josh Boone combined for 11 points in an opening 13-2 run. The Bulls got their first basket in the first minute then went scoreless over the next five.

No. 9 Kentucky 77, Coppin State 46 -- The Wildcats improved to 87-15 in season openers, including 26-3 in Rupp Arena. They led at halftime, 40-18. The Eagles played without Kelvin Green, their top returning scorer, who is a Seventh-Day Adventist and observes the Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday.

No. 11 Duke 88, Tennessee Martin 46 -- J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing each had 20 points and the Blue Devils turned up the defensive pressure in the second half at Durham, N.C., to open Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 25th season with an easy victory.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 81, Howard 55 -- Chevon Troutman, the team’s only senior starter, outmuscled the smaller Bison along the baseline for short-range shots and putbacks to help the Panthers power to leads of 11-0, 19-2 and 30-8 en route to a 40-15 halftime lead at Pittsburgh.

No. 21 Wisconsin 77, Pennsylvania 44 -- The Badgers started slowly, going nearly five minutes without a basket until Clayton Hanson made a three-pointer, but they settled down to post their 29th consecutive victory at the Kohl Center -- the third-longest home winning streak in the country.

OTHER GAMES

Central Florida 55, Utah State 52 -- The Knights (2-0) ended the game with a 15-4 run to advance to the final of the Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska. Gary Johnson made two free throws to give them their first lead of the second half, 48-47, with 4:10 left.

Portland 67, Western Michigan 64 -- Pooh Jeter and Ben Sullivan combined to make seven free throws in the final 1:24 to preserve the victory in the Top of the World Classic. The Pilots (1-1) advanced to the fifth-place game in the tournament.

West Virginia 82, St. Peter’s 70 -- Keydren Clark, the nation’s leading Division I scorer last season, led the Peacocks with 28 points, but it wasn’t enough against the Mountaineers, who haven’t lost a home opener since 1989.