Louisville beats Chattanooga despite second-half scoring drought

No. 11 Louisville defeated Chattanooga 84 to 70 on Monday night at Kresge Arena. The Cardinals secured their fourth consecutive season-opening win and their third victory under head coach Pat Kelsey. The game featured a stark contrast between the first and second halves, as Louisville managed a large lead early but failed to score for nearly five minutes late in the contest.

Flory Bidunga led the Cardinals with 16 points in his debut for the team. Adrian Wooley contributed 15 points, while Seth Trimble and Jackson Shelstad each scored 13. Alvaro Folgueiras added 10 points. Louisville finished with a shooting percentage of 44.1%, converting 30 of 68 attempts. On the other side, Zach Bleshoy and Yonatan Levy led Chattanooga with 14 points each.

The Cardinals started slowly, missing their first shot. They then hit 10 of their next 11 attempts to build a 23-11 lead. That advantage swelled to 25 points, with Louisville leading 55-30 less than two minutes before halftime. The team also controlled the boards in the first half, holding a 21-11 rebounding advantage and securing eight offensive rebounds.

The second half saw Louisville's efficiency drop sharply. The team shot just 29% from the field, making 9 of 31 shots. They missed their first 12 three-point attempts after halftime, finishing 1 for 16 from long range in that period. Louisville went 4 minutes and 13 seconds without a basket and made only two of their final 11 shots.

Chattanooga also struggled from deep in the second half, shooting 5 for 18 after going 7 for 15 in the first period. The Mocs committed 18 turnovers and shot 43.9% from the floor. Karter Knox finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds for Louisville but left the game in the final minute after a hard fall. Bidunga recorded 9 rebounds and 3 steals while shooting 6 for 9 from the field.

Chattanooga travels to Penn State on Thursday. Louisville hosts Morehead State on Saturday.