Louisville's Larry O'Bannon leans into Eastern Kentucky's Ben Rushing as he drives to the basket. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        LOUISVILLE — Reece Gaines scored 25 points to lead Louisville in its final game before its showdown with No.6 Kentucky.

        Bryant Northern added 12 points and Erik Brown had 11 for the Cardinals (9-1).

        Shawn Fields had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Eastern Kentucky (3-7), which dropped to 0-6 on the road and lost to Louisville for the 11th straight time.

        Louisville led by 11 at halftime, scoring 16 points off 13 Eastern Kentucky turnovers in the opening half.

        Chris Carswell scored in the lane 15 seconds into the second half to pull the Colonels to within nine at 47-38.

        Carlos Hurt answered with a driving one-hander and then passed to Gaines for a breakaway dunk to give Louisville a 51-38 lead, its largest to that point.

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