Louisville Holds Off Bellarmine to Claim Crosstown Rematch
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 385 days after the Kenny Payne era was kicked off with an upset loss to Bellarmine, the Louisville men's basketball program was able to avenge that loss in the rematch, holding off a second half rally from their crosstown foes to claim a 73-68 victory Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals (4-3, 0-0 ACC) led by as much as 12 points in the second half, but the Knights (2-6, 0-0 ASUN) were determined to not let the game escape from them.
Assisted by a stretch where Louisville toned down their aggression and went 2-of-11 from the field during the middle portion of the second half, Bellarmine was able to trim the Cardinals' lead to two with just over four minutes left.
But Louisville was able to finish strong and keep Bellarmine at bay, sinking their final five shots, while adding nine free throws in the final four minutes to preserve the win.
With the victory, Louisville matches their win total from last season - where they went 4-28 - in just seven games.
Louisville was able to out-shoot their opponent for only the second time this season (Coppin State), going 43.1 percent from the field to just 37.9 percent from Bellarmine.
However, the Cardinals struggled in other areas of the floor. They weren't able to get to free throw line as often as the Knights were (16-22 to 18-19), committed two more turnovers (14 to 12), barely out-rebounded a much smaller BU squad (38-33), and were dead even in points in the paint (28).
Louisville was led by a 21-point effort from Skyy Clark, while Tre White and Mike James also broke double figures at 14 and 10 points, respectively. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield also collected nine points and 10 rebounds.
Right out of the gates, Louisville was completely out of sorts offensively, as their game plan that relied on drawing fouls in the paint was not working. In the first half, the Cardinals went just 9-of-29 from the field and 4-of-15 on three point attempts with no trips to the free throw line, while turning the ball over seven times.
Bellarmine didn't look much better themselves with a 11-of-28 shooting performance in the first half, but the Knights did end the half on a 13-5 run to take a 27-22 lead into the locker room.
After halftime, Louisville was much more efficient on both ends of the floor, slowly chipping into Bellarmine's lead before flipping momentum with a 16-1 run. In the first 10-plus minutes, the Cardinals were 9-13 from the field while the Knights were just 3-of-16. UofL was shot 55.2 percent in the second half overall, while BU was at a 36.7 percent clip.
Next up, Louisville will head back on the road and face Virginia Tech in their ACC opener. Tip-off against the Hokies is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 3 at 4:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of J.J. Traynor: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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