Louisville 71, Manhattan 64: Luke Hancock scored eight of his 16 points in the final 1:53 as the defending national champion Cardinals escaped against the Jaspers in the NCAA tournament in Orlando.

Russ Smith had a game-high 18 points and Montrezl Harrell contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds as fourth-seeded Louisville (30-5) advances to face Saint Louis in Saturday’s Midwest regional round of 32. Chris Jones tallied 11 points as the Cardinals used a late-game charge to stave off the upset bid.

Ashton Pankey scored 16 points and Emmy Andujar added 13 points for 13th-seeded Manhattan (25-8). Michael Alvarado had 10 points for the Jaspers, who lost despite holding Louisville to 36.4 percent shooting from the field.

Andujar hit two free throws to give Manhattan a 56-55 lead with 4:57 remaining and Rhamel Brown added a basket before Hancock scored the final five points of a 10-2 surge – including two go-ahead free throws -- that gave Louisville a 65-60 advantage with 1:19 to go. Hancock drained another 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a six-point lead with 27 seconds left and the Jaspers were never again closer than four points down.

Louisville possessed a 35-29 halftime lead despite shooting just 36.4 percent from the field. Manhattan scored the first eight points of the second half to take its first lead and the score was tied at 50 after Andujar split two free throws with 7:43 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Hancock had four steals, Harrell had four blocks and Louisville collected 16 offensive rebounds while posting a 42-31 edge on the boards. … The Cardinals were 27-of-35 from the free throw line while the Jaspers were 15-of-21. … Manhattan’s Steve Masiello was an assistant for six seasons under Louisville coach Rick Pitino - and a New York Knicks ballboy when Pitino coached the team - before becoming coach of the Jaspers in 2011.