Sports

Stephenson propels Cincinnati past Louisville

Lance Stephenson was not the best former New York City prep star on the floor last night, but he’s the one sticking around.

The Brooklyn native scored 12 points and helped Cincinnati to a 69-66 upset of Louisville in the second round of the Big East Tournament last night at the Garden.

Stephenson, a freshman out of Lincoln High, was upstaged by Edgar Sosa, but extended his homecoming at least one more day. The No. 11 seed Bearcats (18-14) face third-seeded West Virginia tonight in the quarterfinals.

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Sosa, a senior from Rice, scored 28 points and kept Louisville breathing almost single-handedly. He scored 13 of the Cardinals’ 25 second-half points. Sosa and Samardo Samuels were the only players who scored for Louisville in the second half until Reginald Delk hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

Louisville (20-12) exits the Big East Tournament early a year after winning it. Cincinnati owned the boards in the second half and finished the game with a 54-33 rebounding advantage. The Bearcats had 28 offensive rebounds.

“The point of emphasis tonight was rebound the basketball,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “We rebound, we win. We knew that. We didn’t, we lost. We go home early, waste a lot of boosters’ money.”

Though they were badly outplayed in the second half, the Cardinals still had a chance to force overtime on the final possession. Down by three, Sosa dribbled the length of the court with Cincinnati guard Deonta Vaughn trying to foul him at half-court. Instead, Sosa got into shooting range, but Vaughn stripped the ball as time expired.

“I did a bad job,” Sosa said. “I took too much time off the clock. By the time I got across, there was two seconds left. I couldn’t find anyone.”

The Cardinals saw a 41-32 halftime lead evaporate as they left their offense somewhere in the tunnels beneath the Garden. The Cardinals went nearly seven minutes without a field goal and the Bearcats went on a 13-1 run to tie the game at 47-47.

“The energy just picked up in the huddle and on the court,” Bearcats forward Yancy Gates said.

brian.costello@nypost.com