Louisville rolled past Morehead State 107-57 on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the KFC Yum! Center, handling business in their second game of the regular season in front of 13,188 fans, louisvillecardinal.com reported.
The Cardinals started slow with sloppy turnovers and poor communication. Alexander Dalman opened the scoring with a jumper in the paint to put the Eagles up 6-0 early. Adrian Wooley ended the cold streak with a transition layup set up by a Flory Bidunga block. Obinna Ekezie Jr. quickly followed with a dunk off the bench.
Louisville picked up the speed out of a timeout, playing off Morehead misses to create transition opportunities. Alvaro Folgueiras hit a three-pointer to send the crowd wild and give the Cardinals their first lead at 15-14. Isaac Ellis added back-to-back corner threes to push the margin to 23-18.
Tayvion Tangiora answered with a hook shot for the Eagles against solid defense from Bidunga. The Cardinals used their size and athleticism to stretch the lead further. Ekezie blocked a shot in the paint, allowing Jackson Shelstad to take the ball full-court for a finish that made it 33-22.
Clayton Parker hit a triple from the top of the key to keep Morehead within 33-25. Kyrell Shaw then converted an and-one play following a questionable no-call for a travel. Bidunga made one of two free throws to close out the first half, sending Louisville into the locker room ahead 46-33.
Ball movement clicked immediately after the break. Shelstad opened the second half scoring with a corner three, and Bidunga slammed home a dump-off pass from Folgueiras. Chase Dawson broke the Cardinals’ 7-0 run with a driving layup, but another Shelstad corner three forced an Eagles timeout with Louisville leading 57-35.
The Cardinals suffocated Morehead on both ends of the floor, disrupting passing lanes and forcing turnovers. Seth Trimble stole the ball, recovered after falling out of bounds, and finished an alley-oop from Wooley on the break to highlight a 12-unanswered run that pushed the score to 69-35.
By the eight-minute mark, Louisville had mounted a 31-0 run. Ekezie contributed a putback dunk, a corner three, and an easy layup to expand the advantage to 84-35. Clayton added a hook shot for the Eagles, while Boyuan Zhang grabbed second-chance points following a hustle play. Local fan-favorite Will Hanke capped the scoring with a left-handed driving layup off the glass, and Ellis dribbled out the final clock.
The Cardinals improved to 2-0 on the season and will travel to face Memphis next on Sunday, Nov. 15, at FedExForum, according to louisvillecardinal.com.
