Louisville beats Syracuse in Big East

NEW YORK, March 14 (UPI) -- The fifth-ranked Louisville Cardinals earned their first Big East Tournament title Saturday with a 76-66 victory over 20th-ranked Syracuse.

Terrence Williams had 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven steals for the Cardinals (28-5), who also won the Big East regular-season championship.

Samardo Samuels scored 15 points, Earl Clark had 13 and Preston Knowles 12 for Louisville, which overcame an eight-point halftime deficit for its 10th straight win.

Syracuse (26-9) had a tough tournament. The Orange needed six overtimes to beat fourth-ranked Connecticut in the quarterfinals and one overtime session to beat West Virginia in the semifinals.

Eric Devendorf led Syracuse with 20 points.