Friday August 22nd, 2025 9:54PM

No. 9 Louisville Wins 9th Straight Game

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Francisco Garcia and Juan Palacios both hit two free throws in the final 34 seconds to lift No. 9 Louisville to a 77-73 victory over UAB on Saturday night.<br> <br> The Cardinals (20-3, 8-1 Conference USA) closed the game on a 6-0 run after the Blazers briefly took the lead to extend their winning streak to nine.<br> <br> Marvett McDonald gave UAB (16-6, 6-3) a 71-70 lead with one of two free throws with 1:44 left, then Louisville&#39;s stars took over.<br> <br> Larry O&#39;Bannon hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and finished with 21 points. Then Garcia was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit two of three from the line with 34 seconds left for a 75-73 lead. <br> <br> He blocked a shot by Demario Eddins on the other end and a long scramble for the ball ended with a jump ball that gave Louisville possession. Palacios put the game away with two free throws with 8 seconds left.<br> <br> Garcia had 19 points and played the final 3:25 with four fouls. Palacios added 10 points and the Cardinals made 19 of 21 free throws.<br> <br> The Blazers missed all eight 3-point attempts in the second half for their fourth straight loss in the series.<br> <br> Eddins scored 18 points, Donell Taylor had 16 and Ronell Taylor 11 for UAB. <br> <br> The Blazers led 45-43 at halftime but trailed most of the way after that with Louisville opening the second half on an 11-2 run. The Cardinals could never push their lead past seven points in the half, though, and Eddins hit one of two free throws after getting fouled by Garcia with 3:25 left to tie it 70-all.<br> <br> The matchup of the league&#39;s top scoring teams lived up to its billing in the first half, with UAB taking a 45-43 lead on a layup by Brandon Tobias with 6 seconds left off a pass from Squeaky Johnson.<br> <br> The Blazers trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but closed on a 19-7 run and shot 55 percent.<br> <br> UAB, which leads the nation in steals, forced a modest 14 turnovers.
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