By Derek DeBurger
Louisville cruises to a win in their first home-exhibition against the Young Harris Mountain Lions.
No doubt
The Cards started the game on a 10-0 run, and scored 30 points before Young Harris could reach double-digits.
Terrence Edwards scored 22 points in the first half, including going 6-of-8 from the three-point arc and recording three assists.
The rest of the Cardinals team shot the three well and piled up assists. The team had 14 made threes in the first half alone on 43.8% shooting. Chucky Hepburn recorded five assists in the first half, and Koren Johnson recorded four in the first.
The scored at halftime was 63-27.
The Cards were not as crisp in the second half, starting the period by going back-and-forth with the Mountain Lions.
There were stretches in the second where Louisville seemed to lose all the intensity on the defensive end and grew stagnant on offense. During these times, Young Harris showed more of a will to go up and steal rebounds out of the air, giving them more second-chance opportunities.
The Cards did, however, get back to form to outscore Young Harris in the half.
Louisville would win 106-59.
Edwards led the team with 24 assists, and Reyne Smith was close behind with 20. Noah Waterman (13) and Hepburn (11) also reached double-figures scoring.
Hepburn and Johnson both ended the game with seven assists, leading the team.
The Cards hit 24 threes in the game, which is a single-game record for Louisville.
In the eye of the beholder
Pretty much everything you could think of, both recorded and not, dropped in production after halftime.
It’s hard for a team to maintain a high motor when leading by 36 points, but great teams need to play against a standard when the competition doesn’t offer a proper fight.
In spite of a lackluster second half, there were many positives.
As mentioned, Edwards looked great. He was shut down in the second when the offense stagnated, missing every three he took, but he put on a show offensively and added three steals to make his performance well rounded.
Smith looked like the greatest shooter in the world, as he claims. Smith shot 75% from three, as 18 of his 20 points were from deep.
The Cards also played great team defense to start the game, and did so without fouling.
There is clearly a lot more work to be done before the start of the season, and an exhibition doesn’t mean everything—perhaps anything. But it sure is nice to be looking at a season with the glass half-full.
Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics
