Gorgui Dieng spearheaded a strong defensive effort with 14 rebounds and five blocks as No. 25 Louisville slogged its way to a 60-51 victory Saturday over host Seton Hall, the Pirates' fourth straight loss.

The Cardinals (17-5, 5-4 Big East) led throughout after opening the game with an extended 15-4 surge, holding the Pirates to 2-of-14 shooting from the field over the first nine and a half minutes.

Seton Hall (15-6, 4-5) crawled back in the second half, whittling a 17-point margin down to five at 55-50, but its frigid shooting was too much to overcome.

The Pirates finished 16 of 58 overall (27.6 percent) and made only 3 of 18 3-pointers.

Dieng, who came into the game ranked among the leading shot-blockers in the country, added 11 points.

Russ Smith led a balanced attack with 14 points off the bench for the Cardinals, who enjoyed a 40-29 rebounding edge.

Jordan Theodore scored a game-high 18 points for Seton Hall, while Herb Pope, fresh off a 2-for-16 performance in Wednesday's 55-42 loss to Notre Dame, missed nine of his 13 shots but finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.