Lousiville, Ky. ? Richmond slowed down the game. The Spiders milked the shot clock. They held the ball, played great defense and blocked one Louisville shot after another.

The only thing the Spiders didn’t do is stop Cardinals guard Taquan Dean.

Dean scored 20 of his season-high 30 points in the second half, and No. 5 Louisville rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Richmond, 53-45, on Monday night at the Colonial Classic.

“I knew we had to fight through it, I knew I had to make something happen, a great defensive stop or something on offense,” Dean said.

Louisville (4-0) avoided the upset behind Dean and a defense that held the Spiders (4-3) to 19 points and seven field goals over the final 20 minutes. The Cardinals also forced 18 turnovers to overcome 13 of their own, including seven by Dean.

“I think we showed tremendous guts and heart down the stretch,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Getting behind against Richmond was the worst possible scenario on a basketball court.”

Louisville center David Padgett, who had played solidly in his first two games with the Cardinals after transferring from Kansas University, played 13 ineffective minutes in the first half, recording one rebound and failing to get off a shot. Padgett finished with two points and three rebounds.

Louisville's David Padgett, back, ties up Richmond's Peter Thomas. Padgett, a former Kansas University player, scored two points as the Cardinals beat the Spiders, 53-45, Monday in Louisville, Ky.

No. 11 Illinois 75, Ark.-Little Rock 49

Champaign, Ill. — Freshman reserve Jamar Smith hit six three-pointers and had 23 points for Illinois, which won its 25th straight game at Assembly Hall.

James Augustine scored 12 points for Illinois (8-0), while Brian Randle and Warren Carter each added 11.

Lekheythan Malone scored 17 points in the first half for Arkansas-Little Rock (3-3).

No. 19 Geo. Washington 78, No. 21 Maryland 70

Washington — Reserve Maureece Rice scored a career-high 19 points, and Mike Hall had 14 points and 12 rebounds for George Washington (5-0) in the BB&T Classic. Chris McCray scored 21 points and James Gist had 11 for Maryland (5-2), which couldn’t overcome 25 turnovers.