Recap: Louisville uses hot start to defeat Youngstown State
Louisville men’s basketball didn’t miss a shot in the opening seven minutes against Youngstown State, cruising to a 78-55 victory in the season opener for the KFC Yum! Center Nov. 10. The Cardinals’ offense couldn’t have been much better early on, scoring on 11 straight possessions to take a 24-8 advantage before their first missed shot from the field.
Jordan Nwora scored a team-high 21 points on 10 of 16 shooting for Louisville. Darius Perry had 12 assists and 10 points. Steven Enoch posted his second straight double-double, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Ryan McMahon added 16 points.
After Nwora’s had a pass stolen on the game’s opening possession, Louisville scored on six straight possessions to take a 14-3 lead into the first media timeout. Nwora and Enoch each had two baskets during the opening run, a stark contrast to Louisville’s slow start against Miami in the season opener last week.
The Cardinals made their first 11 shots, taking a 24-8 lead on a jumper by Nwora. The junior missed a baseline floater with 12:51 left in the first half, Louisville’s first missed shot from the field.
“We got off to a good shooting start, I think sometimes that becomes fool’s gold for your team because now you don’t have to necessarily work the ball to the right positions, you don’t have to be as patient with ball movement,” Louisville coach Chris Mack said.
Enoch became the biggest benefactor of Louisville’s emphasis on paint touches. The 6-foot-10 center had 13 points on 6 of 7 from the field in the opening 12 minutes as the Cardinals led 31-17.
“He [Enoch] is very confident,” Mack said. “He has grown with his confidence around the basket.”
Lamarr Kimble found Samuell Williamson for a transition dunk on a 2-on-2 fast break, followed by a 3-pointer from Ryan McMahon to give Louisville a 36-21 advantage with five-and-a-half minutes left in the first half.
Quisenberry made two 3-pointers late in the first half to cut Youngstown State’s deficit to single digits at halftime. The sophomore hit a shot from behind the arc as time expired in the first half to trim Louisville lead to 38-31.
Louisville put to rest any notion of comeback quickly in the second half. The Cardinals scored on three straight possessions in the opening 70 seconds, including a jumper by McMahon and two dunks from Nwora to return the lead to double digits.
Dwayne Sutton and Nwora scored on consecutive possessions as Louisville made 8 of its first 10 shots in the opening seven minutes of the second half. A jumper by Nwora capped an 11-0 run that extended Louisville’s lead to 57-36.
Quinn Slazinski made two 3-pointers, his second giving Louisville a 66-46 lead with 7:38 left.
Louisville returns to action against Indiana State Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.
