Louisville 73, St. Louis 54

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Reece Gaines scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half Saturday as 25th-ranked Louisville extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 73-54 Conference USA victory over St. Louis.

Under second-year coach Rick Pitino, who has pumped life back into the program, the Cardinals (10-1, 2-0 C-USA American) are off to their best start since going 15-1 in 1996-97.

For the third time this season, the Cardinals overcame a halftime deficit before rolling after intermission. Louisville trailed by two at the half, but took over in the final 20 minutes with Gaines leading the way.

Anthony Drejaj scored 16 points to lead St. Louis (6-7), which has three losses against ranked teams this season.