COL BKB: Louisville 74, Morehead St. 54

Samardo Samuels led the way with 15 points Friday and Louisville turned up the defensive pressure to pull away for a 74-54 NCAA victory over Morehead State.

The top-seeded Cardinals held only a 35-33 lead at halftime, but scored the first eight points of the second period to end the Eagles’ upset bid.

Louisville was the fourth and final No. 1 seed to open play in the tournament and the Cardinals maintained the perfect record for top-seeded teams in the first round. With the four triumphs this year, the overall record for No. 1 seeds against No. 16 seeds is 100-0.

The Cardinals (29-5) also got 13 points from Terrence Williams. Louisville’s defense, however, was the star of the game — forcing 20 turnovers that were turned into 27 points.

Kenneth Faried paced Morehead State with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles leave the NCAA Tournament with a victory, however, having downed Alabama State in the play-in game Tuesday.

The Ohio Valley Conference champions made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 25 years.

Louisville was the eighth and last Big East Conference team to swing into action in the tournament. That league finished the opening round with a 6-2 record, the two setbacks suffered by West Virginia and Boston College.