LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Russ Smith really didnt care about being top scorer in his home finale with Louisville because passing to open teammates was the better choice. The star guard is showing he can be pass-first when needed. Just ask Cardinals forward Montrezl Harrell, who scored 20 points while Smith recorded a career-high 13 assists as No. 11 Louisville routed No. 19 Connecticut 81-48 on Saturday to claim a share of the American Athletic Conference championship. The Cardinals (26-5, 15-3) finished tied with No. 15 Cincinnati atop the league. A postgame coin flip went to Cincinnati and left Louisville with the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Cardinals still got to hoist a trophy thanks to Smiths generosity. "Russ does so much for our team," said Harrell, who added 11 rebounds and several thunderous dunks. "He doesnt just worry about scoring. He had like (three) points tonight and 13 assists, so how does he not make us better? ... Right now, hes just worried about us winning, and thats what we need." Smiths performance was appreciated by a sellout crowd that gave him a standing ovation as he went to the bench with 4:22 left in the game. The reception capped a joyous day as he and fellow seniors Luke Hancock, Tim Henderson and Stephan Van Treese were honoured as the programs winningest class. Their achievements included winning last years NCAA championship. All played key roles in Saturdays 116th win together. Smith made just one of two shots but topped his previous assist high by two. Hancock added 16 points while Henderson added an early basket on feeds from Smith. Van Treese grabbed 13 rebounds. "It was just getting the ball to my teammates to get the ball movement going," said Smith, whose audience included nine NBA scouts. "When I looked at the film after the first UConn game, I was very sloppy with the rock. I wasnt handling the ball as well as I should have. I negated any discrepancy about turning the ball over. I just kicked it out to other teammates." Louisvilles defence, meanwhile, frustrated the Huskies (24-7, 12-6) into season lows in scoring and shooting (29.4 per cent) in completing the sweep. Their previous shooting low was 29.6 per cent in a loss to SMU. "I didnt see anything like this coming," said UConn coach Kevin Ollie, whose team still earned the No. 4 seed. "And Im glad it came because now we know how tough we have to be to be a champion. "We werent tough enough. We werent together enough. Louisville took every opportunity to take advantage of it. ... Thats what champions do." Wayne Blackshear added 11 points and Chris Jones 10 as Louisville won this matchup between two of the past three NCAA champions. While the defending champion Cardinals werent always smooth in beating the Huskies, they shot 45 per cent (26 of 58) from the field and mounted a couple of second-half runs to put the game out of reach. DeAndre Daniels 17 points led UConn, which had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 0-4 at the KFC Yum! Center. Senior guard Shabazz Napier managed nine points on 2-of-13 shooting just days after scoring 26 points including a career-best seven 3-pointers in a win over Rutgers, Emotion preceded the game as Louisville honoured the seniors who helped earn the schools third national championship last spring. Smith as expected drew the loudest cheers from a red-clad sellout crowd as a montage of his and teammates shining moments was played on the video screen, which included a shout-out from rapper Pit Bull. Louisvilles 30-18 lead at the break eventually grew to 34 with 91 seconds left to put fitting end to a fond farewell to the seniors -- especially Smith. "Its a special class because for four years they totally did things for all the right reasons," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. Of Smith, he added, "how would you ever imagine Russ Smith knowing on Senior Night he would pass up all opportunities to score and get 13 assists? That shows you how much hes grown. If any pro scouts wondered tonight whether he could be a point guard, I think the thing is all closed." Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/. Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Simon (10-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings to break a tie with the Dodgers Zack Greinke and Cardinals Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in victories. Simon went to spring training as a relief pitcher and moved into the starting rotation when Mat Latos was recovering from elbow and knee surgeries. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister.PORTLAND, Ore. -- For more than four months, the Portland Winterhawks were invincible on home ice. The Edmonton Oil Kings ended the Winterhawks 25-game home winning streak Friday and closed to within one game of winning their second Western Hockey League championship in three years. Griffin Reinhart and Henrik Samuelsson scored second-period goals as the Oil Kings defeated Portland 3-2 in Game 5 of the WHL finals to take a 3-2 series lead. "Gutsy effort by our guys coming into this building and grinding out a solid road game," said Edmonton coach Derek Laxdal. "I thought our guys were really composed in a huge game." Edgars Kulda scored a first-period power-play goal for Edmonton, and goaltender Tristan Jarry made 37 saves and stood tall during a late Portland charge. "The mindset coming into the series was that wed have to win one on the road," said Reinhart. "Weve been comfortable in close games all year." Paul Bittner and Mathew Dumba scored for Portland, which hadnt lost at home since Jan. 4. Corbin Boes stopped 27 shots in defeat. "I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," said Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston. "If we repeat that game well be OK in Game 6." Bittner broke a scoreless streak of nearly 132 minutes for the Winterhawks with his fourth goal of the series with 4:32 left in the first period to put Portland up 1-0. Kulda responded with 1:33 left in the first onn the Oil Kings fourth power play of the period.dddddddddddd The Oil Kings took their first road lead of the series on Reinharts goal 2:11 into the second period, then made it 3-1 on Samuelssons fourth goal of the series at 7:39. That score held until Dumba scored with 1:45 left in regulation to pull Portland within one, but the Winterhawks could not find an equalizer down the stretch. "(Edmonton) is good when they have the lead," Johnston said. "They really trapped it up in the third period, but we had seven or eight chances where we shot it over the net, we cut it too fine." Edmonton finished 1 for 5 on the power play, while Portland went scoreless on four chances. The Winterhawks, who had the top power play in the WHL in the regular season, are stuck in an 0-for-15 slump with the man advantage since Game 1. "Were not getting the bounces we want, but if we keep playing the same way we can win 3-2 next time," Bittner said. Edmonton, which beat the Winterhawks in seven games in the 2012 WHL finals, has won three straight games after dropping the first two of the series in Portland. The Winterhawks won last years championship in six games over Edmonton. The Oil Kings can wrap up the series with a win in Sundays Game 6. If Portland wins, the Winterhawks will host Game 7 Monday. "Weve been good at home," said Reinhart. "Were going to put distractions aside and play our best game." ' ' '