Harrell shines as Louisville rolls over Temple
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Montrezl Harrell posted a career-high 22 points with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in 13th-ranked Louisville's 82-58 rout of Temple at Liacouras Center.
Russ Smith added 15 points and Wayne Blackshear scored 13 off the bench for Louisville (20-4, 9-2 AAC), which led start-to-finish in this one. Luke Hancock chipped in 11 points in the Cardinals' third straight win.
"He's just got a great basketball body," Temple head coach Fran Dunphy said of Harrell. "He was hard for us to guard."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tilt was originally slated for Thursday, but a snowstorm in Philadelphia pushed it back a day.
Will Cummings paced Temple (6-17, 1-10) with 16 points in the setback. Anthony Lee scored 14 as the Owls dropped their fourth in a row since earning their lone conference win over Rutgers on Jan. 29.
Smith knocked down a jumper 18 seconds into the contest, Hancock followed with a triple a minute in and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way for the visiting Cardinals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harrell's personal 6-0 burst out of the first media timeout made it 15-4. Another slam from the sophomore at 5:11 highlighted a 17-2 run, which also included a pair of Hancock 3s, and gave Louisville a 47-20 advantage.
Louisville owned a 52-25 halftime margin.
Temple's Dalton Pepper capped a 7-0 run that spanned both halves with a layup 1:06 into the second half, but the Owls still trailed by 23. Louisville regrouped out of a timeout, netting eight of the next 10 points to reclaim control.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lead ballooned to 36 points after Smith's three-point play at 8:59.
Game Notes
Louisville has won seven of eight overall and six straight on the road ... Chris Jones finished with nine points and a game-high five assists for Louisville ... Louisville's reserves outscored Temple's, 23-7 ... The Owls shot just 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the field.