The Louisville Cardinals hosted the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Saturday Afternoon. It was a dogfight that came down to the last second, but Louisville would scrape out a victory thanks to Noah Waterman’s finish at the rim.
Pat Kelsey, in his post-game presser, talked about how the season is separated into chapters. Moving on from non-conference to full conference play was a chapter on which they could turn the page. The Cardinals found themselves in a fight for their lives this afternoon. The Colonels never made it easy, and despite multiple runs from the Cards, Eastern Kentucky would never go away.
Before the game, it was announced the doctor would clear Aboubacar Traore to join the Cards on the hardwood. A huge sigh of relief for Pat Kelsey and his coaching staff who have been battling injuries all season. In the first half, Louisville shot the ball pretty well, going 9-21 (42.9%) behind the arc. The Cards rebounded the ball very well in the first half with 26 total boards, 12 of them being offensive rebounds.
At one point in the first half, the Cards would lead the Colonels 42-27. Although, Eastern Kentucky would fight back before the half and cut it to a 46-37 half time score. Traore only found himself playing five minutes in this game and they would all come in the first half. Terrence Edwards Jr. leads the Cards into the locker room with 17 points in the first half alone.
The second half was not much to write home about. Louisville offensively just looked stagnant. The Cards would only score 32 second-half points compared to the 46 points in the first half. Pat Kelsey credits the Colonels for their defensive effort and making it tough to get open looks. Eastern Kentucky would eventually take the lead from the Cardinals following a three from George Kimble III making it 76-75 with a minute and 22 seconds left.
Eastern Kentucky’s Devontae Blanton would take a shot with 12 seconds left and miss which led to a Cardinals fast break. Reyne Smith drives and kicks to Waterman, Waterman pump faked, drove the ball in, and finished over two defenders with 1.2 seconds left on the shot clock. EKU calls a timeout, throws the ball in, Terrenece Edwards Jr. steals it, gets fouled, and hits a free throw to ice the game. Cards win a thriller 78-76!
My player of the game goes to Mr. Double-double, J’Vonne Hadley. Not only did he get a double-double but he was the most efficient player on the floor. My co-MVP and a very close second is Terrence Edwards Jr. I tweeted out at one point that he was HOOPING in all caps, and much deserved.
Louisville has had week-long breaks between games as of late. However, that will slowly dissipate when they head into conference play. The Cards start the new year off by hosting North Carolina and from January 1st until the 6th they will play a total of three games in a week. A very different pace to which they have been used to over the last few weeks.
The Cards will host the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Yum! Center on Wednesday, January 1st at 6 pm.
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
