By Sam Draut–
With allegations, scandal and drama surrounding the program for more than a month, the Louisville men’s basketball program got back to where they wanted to be on Sunday afternoon at the KFC YUM! Center.
Jaylen Johnson led the Cardinals with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Louisville defeated Bellarmine 71-55 in the season opening exhibition.
The sophomore power forward came off the bench to haul in a double-double on six of eight shooting in 22 minutes.
“I thought he did a great job,” head coach Rick Pitino said. Pitino said Johnson played more like a post player instead of trying to be a small forward.
Quentin Snider started the final portion of the 2014-15 season, but fifth-year transfer Trey Lewis started at point guard and scored 10 points on three of five shooting. Snider came off the bench and added eight assists and hit a three-pointer.
“Trey is learning the point, Q knows the point,” Pitino said. “Those two guys will play a lot together.”
With seven newcomers playing their first game in front of the home crowd, Pitino said it took awhile for a few of the newcomers to get comfortable.
“Without a question, I thought a couple of our freshman got a little nervous,” Pitino said.
After the game, freshman Donovan Mitchell said he was excited to play in front of the home crowd.
Mitchell hit three three-pointers in the second half and the Cardinals finished 7 of 19 from behind the arc.
On the defensive end, Louisville blocked five shots and had seven steals while limiting Bellarmine to shooting 32 percent from the field.
“I was a little surprised we played that well defensively,” Pitino said. “When you hold Bellarmine to ten assists in a game, you’re playing good D.”
Starting center Chinanu Onuaku’s length helped to disrupt the Knight’s offense, but the sophomore had trouble staying on the floor, fouling out in 19 minutes of play. Onuaku finished with eight rebounds and four points while his fellow low-post counter part Mangok Mathiang grabbed 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
Before the regular season starts on Friday November 13 against Samford, the Cardinals have one final exhibition against Kentucky Wesleyan on Monday November 9.
