LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) After scraping to win its opener before cruising to its second victory, Louisville showed enough resolve to deny Vermont from wiping out its big lead.

Jordan Nwora scored a career-high 22 points, Ryan McMahon made six critical free throws down the stretch and the Cardinals held off the Catamounts 86-78 on Friday night.

Louisville appeared in control with a 73-51 lead with 8:37 remaining, an advantage built with yet another strong performance by Nwora. He continued to spark the Cardinals (3-0) off the bench, scoring eight points with consecutive 3s during a 13-2 spurt for a 45-35 lead at the break. After Steven Enoch scored Louisville's first 10 points of the second half, Nwora followed with a jumper to start a 9-0 run over 3:17 for a 66-45 lead with 11:33 remaining.