Louisville 79, Florida International 55
In a rare father-son college basketball coaching matchup, the father won out Wednesday night.
The University of Louisville, under coach Rick Pitino, shook off Florida International, coached by his son Richard, midway through the first half and rolled to a 79-55 victory in Louisville's KFC Yum! Center.
The underdog Panthers (3-5) hung around through the first 11 minutes until the Cardinals (10-1) doubled up the visitors 20-10 over the final nine minutes of the first half to go into the intermission up 41-27.
The fifth-ranked Cardinals pushed their lead to 20 in the first two minutes of the second half and were never threatened the rest of the way.
Four Louisville players scored in double figures, led by forward Wayne Blackshear, who scored 18 points. Forward Tymell Murphy was the only FIU player in double figures, finishing with 12 points.
It was the 17th time that a father-son coaching duo has faced off in college basketball, with the Cardinals' win increasing the fathers' advantage in such matchups to 15-2.
The game also was billed as the "Billy Minardi Classic" in memory of Rick Pitino's brother-in-law Billy Minardi, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on New York's World Trade Center.
The event has been played as a four-team tournament or a single game since 2002, and the Cardinals have lost only once in 15 such games.
