Conwell excels for No. 6 Louisville in 104-47 rout against NJIT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ryan Conwell scored 32 points and No. 6 Louisville hit 20 shots from 3-point distance, its most in 18 years, while overpowering NJIT in a 104-47 victory Wednesday night.

The former Xavier guard had his biggest scoring outburst since finishing with a career-high 38 points for the Musketeers against Marquette in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal eight months ago. It was the senior guard’s fourth 20-point performance in the last five games.

Conwell did more than just score, too, as he finished with nine rebounds and six assists to go with 9-of-17 shooting. He was 8 of 15 from beyond the arc to lead the Cardinals (7-0), who went 20 for 48 on 3-pointers.

The Cardinals never trailed as they topped the century mark for the fourth time this season and enjoyed dominant stretches on both sides of the court.

They made nine of their first 14 shots, with Adrian Wooley’s 3-pointer giving the Cardinals a 24-9 lead with 12:17 to go in the first half. After that, Louisville held the Highlanders (3-5) to 1-for-13 shooting over the next eight-plus minutes as the advantage grew to 42-12 with 3:30 remaining in the period.

Isaac McKneely added 17 points for Louisville. Wooley scored a season-high 15 on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench, and J’Vonne Hadley finished with 12.

The Cardinals shot 49.3% and outrebounded NJIT 59-21, the largest edge on the boards in school history. The previous mark was plus-35 against Jackson State in November 2014.

Quentin Duncan scored nine points to lead the Highlanders, who shot 31% and lost their fourth straight.

Louisville hit 20 treys for the second time in program history. The team record is 22 in a 104-69 win over Hartford on Nov. 17, 2007.

Up next

NJIT visits Eastern Michigan on Friday afternoon.

Louisville is off until next Wednesday when the Cardinals face Arkansas on the road.