National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kentucky 74, Louisville 69
When: 9:45 PM ET, Friday, March 28, 2014
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: # Joe DeRosa, # Ray Natili, # Chris Rastatter
Attendance: 41072

Kentucky 74, Louisville 69: Aaron Harrison hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute and added two late foul shots as the Wildcats edged the Cardinals in Indianapolis in a Sweet 16 thriller between the last two NCAA tournament champions.

Julius Randle had 15 points and 12 rebounds and fellow freshman Dakari Johnson tied his career high with 15 points as eighth-seeded Kentucky (27-10) overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and a seven-point hole with less than five minutes left. Russ Smith scored 23 points to lead the fourth-seeded Cardinals (31-6), who squandered a chance to face Michigan on Sunday in a rematch of last season's national championship game and instead will watch their rival play for a berth in the Final Four.

Harrison also scored 15 points while his twin brother Andrew Harrison chipped in 14 points and seven assists for the Wildcats, who have won five of their last six games following a late-season slump. Luke Hancock notched 19 points for Louisville, while Montrezl Harrell had 15 and eight boards.

Alex Poythress split a pair of free throws with 1:26 left after being fouled by Harrell, who fouled out on the play, to give Kentucky its first lead since 2-0, only to watch Smith drain a short jumper on the other end. Aaron Harrison answered with a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left and Wayne Blackshear split a pair of free throws to draw the Cardinals within one before Randle knocked down two foul shots in advance of Smith's desperation 3-pointer that came up short.

Thanks to 15 first-half points from Smith, the Cardinals held a 34-31 advantage at the break, although they initially led by 18-5 before each Harrison twin made a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to help the Wildcats rally within three at the half. Louisville's biggest lead of the second half came at 59-52 on Hancock's 3-pointer with just over seven minutes to go, and the Cardinals still led by seven after Hancock made two foul shots with 4:33 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville did itself no favors at the foul line, finishing 13-of-23 from the stripe. Smith was 4-of-10. ... Kentucky C Willie Cauley-Stein suffered an ankle injury in the first half and did not return. ... Johnson scored 15 points in a loss to LSU on Jan. 28 and entered this one with a total of nine points in his last four games.
Top Game Performances
 
Kentucky   Louisville
Aaron Harrison 15 Scoring Russ Smith 23
Andrew Harrison 7 Assists Russ Smith 3
Julius Randle 12 Rebounds Montrezl Harrell 8
Aaron Harrison 6 Free Throws Made Luke Hancock 4
Aaron Harrison 3 Steals Mangok Mathiang 2
Alex Poythress 1 Blocks Mangok Mathiang 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Kentucky 74 43.6 4-14 22-27 8 32 2 5 12
Louisville 69 49.1 4-15 13-23 11 25 3 6 10