Highlights, Photos and Notes: Bellarmine 67, Louisville 66
The highlights, photo gallery and team & player notes from Louisville's loss vs. Bellarmine.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The start of the Kenny Payne era for the Louisville men's basketball program got off on the wrong foot, as the Cardinals dug themselves into a first half hole against Bellarmine, and their comeback attempt fell just short.
The Atlantic Coast Conference put together a highlight tape of the matchup, which you can see here:
Team Notes:
- UofL used the starting lineup of Mike James, El Ellis, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Sydney Curry, and Jae’Lyn Withers for the first time. This lineup is now 0-1 together this season.
- KEY FIRST HALF RUN: Bellarmine used a 25-5 run starting at 15:53 to take a lead of 32-18 with under seven minutes on the clock. The run was keyed by four 3-pointers from the Knights, with four different players hitting from beyond the arc.
- KEY SECOND HALF RUN: UofL went on a 7-0 run to bring the score within four points around the 8- minute mark before a foul on Mike James resulted in Bellarmine free throws. o The Cardinals finished the game on an 11-0 run, with Bellarmine’s final basket coming at 4:41.
- UofL shot 22 of 52 (42.3%) from the field, 11 of 28 (39.3%) from 3-point range and 11 of 14 (78.6%) from the free-throw line.
- The loss against Bellarmine marks the first loss in a Cardinal home opener in 22 years and first loss in a season opener in 19 years.
Player Notes:
- Guards El Ellis played the full 40 minutes and scored 14 points with three rebounds and five assists. This game marked his 10th start for the Cardinals. Ellis tied his career high in 3-point field goals attempted with 11, making four.
- Forward Mike James made his collegiate debut scoring 16 points, which ranks fifth in individual scoring in a freshman career debut. James played 33 minutes and went 5 of 8 from the field with four rebounds and three assists.
- Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield made his UofL debut playing 21 minutes and had nine points, shooting 4 of 4 from the field. He added 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block. o The block came at the 27.3 second mark to keep the Cardinals within one point.
- Forward Jae'Lyn Withers led the team with 17 points, going 5 of 9 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. He added two rebounds and two steals to the stat sheet. o Withers played for 25 minutes before fouling out with 39 seconds left in the game.
- Forward/center Roosevelt Wheeler recorded a career high in rebounds with eight – including six offensive – and added three points, one assist, and one block to the stat sheet. Wheeler played 19 minutes, falling one minute shy of his career high.
Gallery:
NOTE: Photos courtesy of Louisville Report's Cindy Rice Shelton and USA TODAY's Jamie Rhodes.
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