¤ milky moon ¤

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories. The junior committed his second turnover of the season early in the second half of the No. 3 Cardinals 87-48 win over Hartford in the Hall of Fame Tipoff on Tuesday night. He joked around after the game that they should change the rule for turnovers. "I think they should change the rules when you try to save the ball off the steal," he said. The Cardinals, who entered the game second nationally for fewest turnovers per game with 6, had seven on the night compared to Hartfords 25. Its the seventh straight game dating back to last season that the Cardinals have had 10 or fewer -- the longest streak in Pitinos 13 seasons with the team. The junior from Memphis played his first 67 minutes without committing an error before his pass slipped through freshman Anton Gills hands in Louisvilles last game against Cornell. He now has 17 assists in four games, including four Tuesday, compared to his two unfortunate miscues. His steady play at the point has eased the transition from Louisville legend Peyton Siva, now with the Detroit Pistons, and has earned the trust of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. "I think Chris Jones is a tremendous point guard," Pitino said. "He is very low to the ground and does not make a lot of mistakes." Pitino, known for his pressure defence, said he has emphasized not giving the ball back to opponents once his club has forced a takeaway. "One of the points of emphasis this year is we are going to not turn the ball over because we are a possession team," Pitino said. "If youre going to press, you are going to be all over the floor trapping and using that much energy. If you just give it away, all that energy was for naught." The Cardinals protective nature continued Tuesday, turning the ball over only twice in the first half. The first came more than 14 minutes into the game when Harrell was tied up under the basket and alternate possession was given to the Hawks. A Russ Smith offensive foul at the 1:54 mark was its only other error in the first half. Even when Louisville gave the ball to Hartford, they were hustling. Their final turnover came following a Chane Behanan steal when his behind-the-back save from his own corner to keep the ball inbounds hit the Louisville rim and nearly went in. In addition to committing mistakes, Jones is developing a bond with Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell. "I got a great feel for Trez," Jones said. "I know I can throw it to the rim and hell go get it." Harrell led No. 3 Louisville with 20 points and nine rebounds as Cardinals string of blowout wins to start the season continued. He was 9 of 12 from the field with six dunks, one off the school record. Harrells string of slams included a slam off Behanans missed free throw with 4:09 left that put Louisville up 81-46 with 4:11 to play. Russ Smith added 14 points as the Cardinals (4-0) extended their winning streak to 20 games dating to last seasons run to the national title. Jones and reserve Chane Behanan added 11 points apiece. Louisville shot 50 per cent from the field, outrebounded Hartford 35-29. Mark Nwakamma scored 16 points for the Hawks (2-3), and reserve Yasin Kolo finished with 12. Louisville jumped on Hartford right at the start, scoring the first eight points of the game and 22 of the first 30. Harrell passed to Wayne Blackshear for a 3-pointer and Terry Rozier converted a layup with 1:42 left in the first half to give the Cardinals a 42-19 lead before leading by 21 at halftime. The Hawks stayed within reach during the first 10 minutes by hitting 3 of their first 5 3-pointers, clawing back to a 22-11 deficit following Louisvilles opening run. But they missed their next 11 from behind the arc before Kolos triple with 5:01 remaining made it 79-44. Hartford finished the game 4 of 17 (24 per cent) on 3-pointers after hitting a season best 10 of 20 in its win last out against Fairleigh Dickinson. Louisvilles Luke Hancock went 2 for 4 as Louisville made 7 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc. The Hawks saw their winning streak end after beating its last two opponents by double digits. It was their fifth game in 11 nights. Louisville will play away from home for the first time on Saturday when it travels to Connecticut for two games to conclude the Hall of Fame Tipoff, the first against Fairfield. The Cardinals will then play either Richmond or North Carolina on Sunday. . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. http://www.hockeycanadiensauthority.com ... rsey-c-30/. -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. . -- Antoine Bibeau bought the Val-dOr Foreurs valuable time at the Memorial Cup with his 51-save shutout Friday.LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky forward Julius Randle took a lot of time and talked to a lot of people before deciding to leave after one season for the NBA draft, where he is expected to be among the top five selections. With five days left before the deadline for underclassmen to declare, the 6-foot-9 Dallas native announced the decision many expected even before he arrived as part of Kentuckys best recruiting class ever. Projected as a lottery pick from the outset, Randle solidified his draft stock by leading Kentucky (29-11) to the NCAA final behind a string of double-doubles despite being double- and triple-teamed. Randle averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds and was voted to The Associated Press All-American third team. With Tuesdays announcement, he joins guard James Young, who said last week that he would enter the June 26 draft. "Kentucky will always have a special place in my heart, but growing up as a kid, theres always been my dream to play in the NBA, and theres no better opportunity for me to achieve that goal than now," Randle said at a news conference attended by his mother, Carolyn Kyles, and teammates Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein, who rode in on a scooter. Decisions remain for three more freshmen -- twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison and centre Dakari Johnson -- along with sophomore forward Poythress, who didnt talk about his future Tuesday. But Randles announcement was the most anticipated, even though Kentuckys fan base was resigned to him becoming the latest of the programs "one and done" players. Randles steady low-post play led to positive feedback from league executives about his NBA potential. After spending the past couple of weeks talking with his family, Kentucky coach John Calipari -- who didnt attend the news conference -- teammates and others, Randle made the decision many expected. His next step is hiring an agent. "It wasnt something that we said we were going to do overnight," Kyles said of the decision-making process. "We prayed about it and talked about it for a while and decided this is the best decision for him. ... "IIt was important to know their feedback, if they thought he was ready to go out there and contribute to a team.ddddddddddddThe positive feedback, there was enough of it coming from coach Cal that we felt this was the right thing to do." Added Randles mentor, Jeff Webster, "I just wanted to hear him say it, that this is what he wanted to do." Considered the best player of Kentuckys much-heralded eight-man recruiting class featuring six high school All-Americans, the 250-pound Randle was initially described by Calipari as the "alpha beast" of this talented group. The Wildcats overcame a stretch-run slump to reach the NCAA championship game before they lost 60-54 to Connecticut. Randle had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in the final, but the Huskies defence kept him from being a threat in the paint. The left-handed freshman led the Wildcats in rebounding and scoring and posted a nation-leading 24 double-doubles in spite of opponents work in limiting his options near the basket. Calipari said in a statement that Randle "was Shaqd all year -- in every way," referring to defences applied to former NBA great Shaquille ONeal. "I cannot wait to watch him shine at the next level." Randle scored nearly half of his 599 points from the foul line, as he often had to muscle his way through double teams. He also provided one of Kentuckys season highlights in late February with a game-winning putback in the final seconds of a 77-76 overtime victory over LSU, one of many hard-fought games for a gifted yet inexperienced Wildcats squad that needed all season to come together. Through it all Randle remained a steady force with physical play that reinforced speculation that he would be among the top players chosen in June. "I came here to win a national championship. I came here to mature on and off the court, and I did that," Randle said. "I came (up) one game short of winning a national championship, we did as a team. But everything we went through this year was just an experience Ill never forget. That alone kept me at peace." ' ' '