No. 1 Panthers aren’t perfect anymore

Junior forward Earl Clark scored 16 points, including the clinching basket with 45 seconds remaining, and grabbed 11 rebounds on his 21st birthday to lift 20th-ranked Louisville over top-ranked Pittsburgh, 69-63, Saturday night.

Clark and the surging Cardinals (13-3, 4-0 in Big East Conference) left no doubt.

Louisville smothered the Panthers (16-1, 4-1) over the final eight minutes, holding Pittsburgh to one-for-16 shooting down the stretch to end Pittsburgh’s first run at the top of the poll. The loss left No. 2 Wake Forest as the only unbeaten team in Division I.

The Panthers committed a season-high 20 turnovers against Louisville’s full-court pressure.

It was the first win for the Cardinals over a No. 1 team since beating Florida on Dec. 13, 2003.

“It’s a great win, it just happens to be on my birthday,” Clark said.

Jermaine Dixon had a career-high 19 points but missed the front end of a one and one with 1 minute 25 seconds left and the Panthers trailing by four points. Center DeJuan Blair had nine points in 20 foul-plagued minutes.

The Panthers had risen to the top spot in the rankings behind 16 dominant wins.