LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Earl Clark had 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, and No. 12 Louisville held off stubborn Miami of Ohio 47-44 Saturday.

Derrick Caracter added 12 points and five rebounds and Terrence Williams had 12 points and seven boards for the Cardinals (5-1), who needed Edgar Sosa’s two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to escape.

Tim Pollitz led the Redhawks (3-3) with 22 points and eight rebounds, and Kenny Hayes had 11 points and six rebounds, but Miami couldn’t overcome 37 percent shooting. Miami’s leading scorer Michael Bramos was held to five points, 19 below his season average. While Pollitz hit 11 of 22 field goals, the rest of the team made just seven of 27 shots from the floor.

Still, the Cardinals were there for the taking. Louisville seemed frustrated by Miami’s deliberate pace but couldn’t find any rhythm offensively to pull away.

Neither team led by more than six, and the Cardinals trailed 42-41 on two free throws by Carl Richburg with just over 3 minutes left.

Clark, however hit a putback and a layup to put Louisville back in front 45-42. Hayes hit an acrobatic layup in traffic to get the Redhawks back within a point. Caracter missed a jumper, but Bramos badly missed a runner in the lane. Clark got the rebound and Louisville held on.

The RedHawks led 22-21 at the half, thanks almost entirely to Pollitz. The senior carried Miami, scoring 18 points on a variety of hooks, finger rolls and deft drop steps.

The Cardinals kept changing the matchup, putting Caracter, Clark and Terrance Farley – all of whom are considerably taller than the 6-foot-5 Pollitz – on him in an effort to slow him down.

It didn’t work. Unfortunately, his teammates had no such luck. While Pollitz hit nine of 16 shots in the first half, the rest of the RedHawks were a combined 0-for-9. Bramos, who came in averaging 24.4 points per game, was scoreless. He missed both of his first-half shots badly and ran into foul trouble.

Louisville, however, couldn’t take advantage. The Cardinals struggled taking care of the ball, and shot just 36 percent from the floor.

The RedHawks succeeded in controlling the tempo, holding the ball deep into the shot clock before letting Pollitz go to work.

AP-ES-12-01-07 1624EST