Samardo Samuels scored 23 points to go with 12 rebounds and No. 20 Louisville held off visiting Morgan State, 90-81, yesterday.

Preston Knowles added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and Edgar Sosa had 12 points for the Cardinals (3-0), who struggled to put away the Bears.

DeWayne Jackson led Morgan State (3-1) with 21 points, and Kevin Thompson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the defending MEAC champions.

The Bears drew within 74-67 with 5:23 remaining, but Louisville countered with a 10-2 run highlighted by a dunk from freshman forward Rakeem Buckles.

The Cardinals held on behind solid free-throw shooting. Louisville made 33 of 41, while the Bears went just 18 of 24 from the stripe.

Louisville never trailed after the opening four minutes, but the Cardinals were unable to shake loose despite shutting down Morgan State star Reggie Holmes.

• South Florida 74, UNC-Wilmington 66: Dominique Jones scored 28 points and South Florida beat visiting North Carolina-Wilmington in the third round of the Charleston Classic. Augustus Gilchrist added 14 points for the Bulls, all in the second half.

• Vermont 77, Rutgers 71: Evan Fjeld had 19 points as host Vermont beat Rutgers in the Legends Classic. Despite sitting out more than 15 minutes due to illness, Marqus Blakely had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assists for the Catamounts (2-1).

• Tennessee 57, DePaul 53: Tyler Smith made two free throws with 13.7 seconds left, and No. 10 Tennessee held off visiting DePaul in the second round of the Paradise Jam.

• Notre Dame 91, Liberty 72: Luke Harangody scored 32 points, making all 10 of his free throws, to lead host Notre Dame to a victory against Liberty in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Kyle Ohman led Liberty with 13 points.

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