LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hosting local Division III foe Spalding for their second and final exhibition game prior to the start of the 2024-25 season next week, the Louisville men’s basketball program once again put together a dominating performance, winning 99-54 on Monday at the KFC Yum! Center.
Unlike in their previous exhibition matchup last week vs. Young Harris College, the Cardinals did the overwhelming majority of their damage inside the arc.
Louisville shot 27-of-37 on two-point tries as part of a 58.3 percent field goal shooting performance, while attempting just 23 threes (and sinking eight). The week before in their exhibition opener, they attempted 56 three-pointers. The Cardinals also made a lot trips to the free throw line, but only went 21-of-34 at the charity stripe.
Additionally, Louisville placed a noticeable defensive emphasis on high ball pressure. This in turn led to them forcing 28 Spalding turnovers, generating 21 steals, and the Cards scoring 45 points off turnovers. The Golden Eagles also shot just 36.4 from the field and 4-of-17 on threes.
The enhanced physicality on both ends did lead to somewhat sloppier play than we had seen in the previous exhibition and in The Bahamas, but Louisville still faired well with overall ball movement. While they did turn it over 16 times, they assisted on 24 of their 35 field goals.
Louisville got a pair of 20-point scorers off of the bench. Kasean Pryor finished with a game-high 26 points, while Koren Johnson added 20. Chucky Hepburn totaled nine assists, while James Scott had a team-best nine rebounds.
With the large emphasis placed on play at the rim and high ball pressure, Louisville looked a little bit sloppy to open up the game, committing three turnovers in the opening segment alone. But after holding only a 9-6 lead just over four minutes into the game, the Cardinals started to find a groove, firing off a 12-0 run to start putting some distance between them and Spalding.
After starting to get into a groove offensively, it allowed them to really settle in defensively. In the final ten-plus minutes of the first half, Spalding went 0-for-9 from the field after the Golden Eagles had opened up 6-of-11, with the Cardinals also forcing 14 steals for the half. Combine that with a 21-of-31 shooting half themselves, and Louisville took a 53-21 lead into halftime.
Like in the first half, Louisville got off to a slow start to start the second half. They turned the ball over five times in the period’s first five minutes, and allowed Spalding to shoot 5-of-7 during this span to open the half on a 16-8 run and trim the lead to as little as 24.
While the Cardinals only shot 14-of-29 in the second half, their defense did come back around. The Golden Eagles shot 5-of-17 for the rest of the half after their good shooting start to the period, and trailed by as much as 50 down the stretch.
Next up, Louisville will host Morehead State for their 2024-25 regular season opener. Tip-off against the Eagles is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Kasean Pryor: Matt Stone – Courier Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK)
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