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Bulls Worn Down By No. 7 Louisville

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The Associated Press

Published: January 29, 2009

Updated: 01/29/2009 06:10 am

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of South Florida men's basketball team was able to keep pace with seventh-ranked Louisville on Wednesday night - for a half.

The second half, however, belonged to the Cardinals, who rolled to their eighth consecutive victory, 80-54, in Louisville's 800th game at Freedom Hall.

USF (7-13, 2-6 Big East) lost its 24th consecutive road game against a ranked opponent.

"They wore us down in the second half," USF coach Stan Heath said. "They really got to us. Once they got the snowball rolling, it really blew up. The 3s started falling and it was time for us to go home."

Leading 33-32 at the half, the Cardinals (16-3, 7-0) knocked down five 3-pointers in a three-minute stretch to send the Bulls on their way. Edgar Sosa made three during the run, including a shot from the corner that hit the rim, bounced a good 5 feet up then dropped into the basket as Sosa pumped his arms in celebration.

Sosa hit four of six 3-pointers, the most he has hit in a single game in more than a year. He finished with 16 points.

"The second half was more like we've been playing," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "We fell into the trap of not taking good shots. We had to have a good start to the second half."

Samardo Samuels got the Cardinals going with back-to-back dunks - the first off a terrific feed from Andre McGee - to start a 22-3 run that quickly buried the Bulls.

Dominique Jones led the Bulls with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Jesus Verdejo added 10 points, but the Bulls couldn't keep up.

The Cardinals improved to 664-136 all-time at Freedom Hall, where they have played for 54 seasons.

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