LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — V.J. King and Quentin Snider each scored 15 points, Deng Adel added 14 and Louisville overcame a slow start to shoot 51 percent and pull away for a 96-77 victory against Wake Forest on Saturday night.
Seeking to rebound from Wednesday's overtime loss at Miami, the Cardinals (16-5, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 17-8 before surging ahead with a 19-2 run that included 14 unanswered points. They followed with several runs to stretch a 42-33 halftime lead to 79-51 with 9½ minutes remaining and roll to their fifth win in six games and while handing the reeling Demon Deacons (8-13, 1-8) their seventh consecutive defeat.
Dwayne Sutton had a season-high 13 points for Louisville, which registered its second-highest scoring total this season and avenged last year's loss in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Chaundee Brown had 20 points, Bryant Crawford 19 and Doral Moore 16 with 13 rebounds for Wake Forest, which shot 48 percent, outrebounded Louisville 39-32 and committed 20 turnovers for 28 Louisville points. The Demon Deacons played without senior starting guard Mitchell Wilbekin, who injured his ankle this week.
"They took advantage of us, especially in the turnover department," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said of Louisville. "Transition defense, they outscored us by 15 there. Those are two categories that jump out right away."
BIG PICTURE
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons had chances to make it competitive early in the second half before following with several sloppy stretches that Louisville pounced on to put the game out of reach. Moore entered the game having made 11 straight FGs including all nine in Tuesday's loss to No. 4 Duke. The 7-foot-1 junior made his first three and finished 8 of 14 from the field.
Louisville: The Cardinals shot 7 of 17 through nearly 10 minutes before closing the first half 10 of 16. They then made 8 of their first 11 in the second and at one point were shooting 68 percent before cooling down. They shot 50 percent in both halves and made 10 of 25 from long range. "Overall, pretty pleased just because we're playing well and guys are getting better, which is what you want to see this time of year," interim coach David Padgett said.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest: Hosts Florida State on Wednesday, seeking its first win against the Seminoles in six meetings.
Louisville: Visits No. 2 Virginia on Wednesday, looking to end a four-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
———
For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP—Top25