No. 11 Louisville beats Chattanooga in season opener at KFC Yum! Center

Louisville Opens Season with Win Over Chattanooga Despite Second-Half Skid

Louisville basketball started its 113th season Monday night at the KFC Yum! The No. 11 Cardinals, picked to finish third in the ACC, defended their home court with a dominant first-half performance before a late scoring drought allowed the SoCon fifth-place pick to narrow the gap, as reported by si.com.

The Cardinals took the floor missing Dayton transfer forward De’Shayne Montgomery, who faces a four-to-six-week absence due to a foot injury. Even without Montgomery, Louisville erupted out of the gate, starting 6-for-7 from the field and draining their first three attempts from beyond the arc. Guard Jackson Shelstad hit two deep shots early, while forward Alvaro Folgueiras added a transition three from the elbow to establish an 8-5 lead.

Flory Bidunga quickly seized control of the paint. The center pulled down rebounds, secured steals, and punctuated a 9-0 run with an emphatic slam that pushed the Louisville advantage to 17-5. The relentless interior attack continued as Adrian Wooley drove past the defense for two early buckets, Karter Knox converted an alley-oop from Folgueiras, and Seth Trimble hit a runner alongside an uncontested dunk off a baseline out-of-bounds feed from Folgueiras, stretching the score to 25-11.

Wooley fueled another surge, scoring seven points during an 8-0 run that featured a Folgueiras three-pointer and two free throws from Ekezie, making it 37-14 with 9:43 left in the first half. Chattanooga answered with an 8-0 run capped by a layup and three-pointer from Kobe McDowell-White, prompting a Louisville timeout.

Shelstad halted the Mocs’ momentum by hitting a three-pointer, converting an uncontested layup off an outlet pass from Trimble, and lobbing to Wooley, who caught it in mid-air to toss another alley-oop to Knox. That sequence completed a 7-0 run and stretched the lead to 44-22. Freshmen Isaac Ellis and forward LJ Wells added points from the free-throw line for their first points in a Louisville uniform before Wooley found Bidunga for a one-handed lefty post dunk. Late threes by Ekezie and Knox sent the Cardinals into halftime ahead 56-35.

Cardinals Dominate First-Half Shooting Before Second-Half Slowdown

At the break, Louisville shot 56.8 percent from the field (21-37) and 42.1 percent from distance (8-19). The Mocs shot 48 percent overall (12-25) and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc (7-15). The Cardinals generated six dunks, 26 points in the paint, and 11 points off turnovers in the opening twenty minutes. Knox led the rebounding effort with six boards alongside seven points, while Bidunga tallied eight points despite picking up three fouls. Shelstad and Wooley each notched 11 points in the first half.

The second half told a different story. Louisville extended its advantage to 27 points at 67-43 with 14 minutes remaining, highlighted by two rim-rattling dunks from Bidunga off assists from Ellis and Shelstad, plus a contested and-one layup from Trimble. However, the offense ground to a halt down the stretch. Louisville was outscored 27-17 over the remainder of the contest, shooting just 29 percent (9-31) from the field and 6.3 percent (1-16) from three-point range in the second half.

Trimble paced the Cardinals after the intermission with nine points, while Bidunga added eight points and six rebounds to finish as Louisville’s leading scorer with 16 points and nine boards. Wooley contributed 15 points and four steals, Shelstad and Trimble added 13 points apiece, and Knox finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. Chattanooga was led by forward Yonatan Levy and guard Zach Bleshoy, who scored 14 points each.

Head coach Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals hold a quick turnaround before returning to the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday to face Morehead State at noon.