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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- As Louisville strives to reach the high level of performance and consistency achieved by last years championship squad, the Cardinals also know that getting there will take time with a bunch of new faces. Wednesday nights game against Missouri-Kansas City could be considered a small step in that process. The No. 7 Cardinals used contributions from veterans and newcomers to get the job done in a 90-62 win over Missouri-Kansas City. Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures. Facing first-year UMKC coach Kareem Richardson, Louisville reminded the former Cardinals assistant what he left behind to take the job with the Kangaroos. A year after they beat UMKC 99-47, the Cardinals (7-1) controlled the game throughout and steadily pulled away in the second half. "Sometimes, you dont look at what were doing because everybodys so focused on last year, which is where we need to get to because we were so successful," Cardinals senior guard Russ Smith said. "Its going to take some time. Its a tough, empty space to fill, but I think well get there." As Louisville continues to learn how to replace point guard Peyton Siva and centre Gorgui Dieng, it had some things to feel good about. The Cardinals manhandled UMKC 44-24 in the paint, forced 20 turnovers that led to 29 points and outrebounded the Kangaroos 49-29, grabbing 22 on the offensive end. Chane Behanan came off the bench for 11 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Jones, Smith and Luke Hancock each added 10 points and combined for five of Louisvilles 10 3-pointers. The Cardinals shot 33 of 77 from the field (43 per cent). Nelson Kirksey and Martez Harrison had 14 points apiece for UMKC (1-6), which shot 23 of 50 (46 per cent) and was 5 of 17 from long range but were never in a game that matched Richardson against Louisville counterpart Rick Pitino, with whom he spent last season during the teams national championship run. The Kangaroos were consoled with shooting fairly well against a team that prides itself on defence. That fact bothered Pitino and illustrated his belief of how far the Cardinals have to go to match last years standard. "We did some things well tonight and some things we did not do," the coach said. "We pressed well, got a lot of deflections. We just got beat off of the dribble quite a bit. That is probably our biggest weakness to date. ... We have got to correct that the next few days, because this team was obviously very inferior to our athletic ability." Louisville nonetheless helped Pitino improve to 34-9 against teams coached by former assistants such as Richardson, 39. Though Pitino supported his desire to be a head coach, he also noted the huge challenge he faced in starting his career with a team that was 8-24 last season. Compounding Richardsons task is blending in six freshmen and three transfers, two of whom must sit out this season due to NCAA rules. Things got even tougher for UMKC late in the first half when starting guard Aaron Washington injured his right knee going for a loose ball. The senior went to the locker room at halftime on crutches with the knee wrapped in ice and did not return. The Kangaroos were down 43-27 at that point, shooting a decent 46 per cent from the field (11 of 24) and only four points shy of the Cardinals in the paint (18-14). That was the only area in which UMKC stayed close to the defending champions, who took a plodding approach in pulling away from a team they beat by 52 points here nearly a year ago. "Obviously, going up against a calibre team like Louisville has was certainly a challenge for us," Richardson said. "I was really pleased with our guys effort. That was one of the main things we wanted to come in and play hard. "But Ill tell you, that Louisville team, theyre going to be good -- not going -- they are very good. Despite what Coach may think and that (North) Carolina loss, they have enough talent, enough depth, to really make a run at it again. I know a lot of things got to go the right way, but theyre certainly good." Freshman guard Terry Rozier started in place of Smith, a senior, and quickly hit a 3-pointer to spark a Louisville outside game that UMKC couldnt match. The Cardinals shot 6 of 17 from long range in the first half while the Kangaroos missed all five attempts, helping provide a cushion that reached 23 late in the first half despite 15-of-39 shooting (39 per cent). 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Cheap Rod Carew Jersey .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years.HARRISON, N.J. -- Toronto FC were a minute away from a big road victory against a team close to them in the standings before a veteran just back from the World Cup helped steal away what seemed a sure three points. Red Bulls midfielder Tim Cahill, who scored twice for Australia in Brazil just a week ago, knocked a header at the feet of New Yorks Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 93rd minute to beat Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik for a 2-2 draw Friday. The result left an often dominant Toronto (6-4-2) club with just a point in its first match following a league-wide World Cup break. "Im disappointed that we didnt hold out, disappointed that I couldnt make that last save. I thought we were the far better team the entire game," Bendik said. While New York (4-5-7) held a slight edge in possession, Toronto outshot the Red Bulls 20-14 with a 7-6 advantage in shots on target despite still missing midfielder Michael Bradley to the World Cup. Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen felt it was a match they could learn from and a sign they were gaining momentum after an opening three months that saw them play the fewest league games in Major League Soccer. "We had a couple of weeks (during the break) and sort of benefited off that," Nelsen said. "Guys are staying a bit healthier, and hopefully we can just keep on it." Despite a quality first half, Toronto trailed heading into halftime as Peguy Luyindula headed a cross from Ambroise Oyongo past a diving Bendik to make it 1-0 in the 36th minute. The Reds jumped out to their best period of the game to begin the second half, as Jermain Defoe beat New Yorks Carlos Robles against the grain to even the score in the 55th minute. The goal is Defoes eighth in nine league matches. Toronto made aa sub designed on going for at least a draw by bringing on Brazilian designated player Gilberto, who had been scoreless in nine previous matches.dddddddddddd In the 72nd minute, after a dispute with Defoe over who would take a free kick from inside 25 yards, stutter stepped before cracking an unstoppable shot to the top right corner of the goal that froze everyone on the pitch, save for a helpless, diving Robles. "Sometimes you just get a feeling," said Nelsen, addressing the moments leading up to the kick between his two international stars. "I think Gil had a feeling he was going to do something, and players understand that. (That goal) will be shown around the world, for a long time." Defoe admitted he was fine with the decision in the end. "Yeah, it was meant (to be). In football, youre confident, and when he stepped up, I had that feeling that he was going to score. You can see from the celebrations, Im so happy for him." Gilberto eventually left the game in the 89th minute with what Nelson called a hip problem. Toronto were unable to fend off a desperate New York team that remained one point behind them for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, with a somewhat surprise substitution of Cahill for the goal-scorer Luyindula. New York head coach Mike Petke admitted that hed had no plans to use Cahill in any serious role prior to the team going down a goal. "I was hoping to bring Tim on in the 88th minute, up 3-0, so the fans could clap him for the wonderful World Cup he had," Petke said. "Obviously things change, with the score, with the way the game went. We felt, to bring Tim on for 20 minutes, perhaps something could happen, and obviously it did in the end." ' ' '