National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 83, Notre Dame 77
When: 9:25 PM ET, Friday, March 11, 2011
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: # John Cahill, # Pat Driscoll, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance: 19375

Preston Knowles scored the final eight points of regulation and added two more in overtime to finish with 20 and lead No. 14 Louisville to an 83-77 victory over No. 4 Notre Dame on Friday in the semifinals of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Terrence Jennings added 16 points and Peyton Siva collected 15 points and seven assists before fouling out for the third-seeded Cardinals (25-8), who will face No. 9 seed Connecticut on Saturday in the championship game.

After allowing Notre Dame (26-6) to shoot 57 percent in the first half and lead by as many as 16 points, Louisville came out with a different defensive intensity after the break, limiting the Irish to six field goals in the second half. The Cardinals ran several different defenders at Big East Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough, who was held to 13 points on 3-of-16 shooting.

Louisville chipped away throughout the second period, finally tying it at 66-66 when Knowles hit two free throws with 2:47 left.

The Cardinals took their first lead of the half just over a minute later when Knowles followed his own miss and tipped in the offensive rebound to make it 70-68. Scott Martin’s layup tied it again and Knowles and Carleton Scott traded baskets to send it to overtime, where Notre Dame shot 2 of 6 and turned it over twice.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisville   Notre Dame
Preston Knowles 20 Scoring Scott Martin 21
Peyton Siva 7 Assists Ben Hansbrough 5
Gorgui Dieng 8 Rebounds Scott Martin 8
Terrence Jennings 6 Free Throws Made Tyrone Nash 7
Terrence Jennings 1 Steals Scott Martin 2
Terrence Jennings 3 Blocks Jack Cooley 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisville 83 38.4 7-23 20-25 15 41 3 5
Notre Dame 77 43.1 8-24 19-25 13 32 4 5