Cards Cruise Past Mercyhurst 71-39 in Exhibition Finale

Wednesday night Louisville hosted their only exhibition game of the 2026-2027 season in the KFC Yum! Center with the Mercyhurst Lakers from the Northeast Conference invading. Mercyhurst made the jump to the conference and Division 1 in 2024.

Just prior to tipoff it was announced that Louisville center Gabe Dynes underwent shoulder surgery and would be out for four months. The 7’5″ transfer from USC was one of the more intriguing roster pieces for The Ville based on height and rim presence alone.

Advertisement

The loss of Dynes did not make too much of a difference in the exhibition as Louisville cruised past Mercyhurst 71-39 on Wednesday night. The Cards put an extra emphasis on building a strong defensive roster after the first two years of the Pat Kelsey era were predicated on up-tempo high volume shooting teams. Tonight, that was put on display as The Ville only shot 13 three-point attempts (2-13). 56 of Louisville’s 71 points came in the paint. Mercyhurst was held under 40 points (21 in the first half, 18 in the second half.)

Another aspect to watch has been the “small forward” position. Adrian Wooley started the first two games but failed to score tonight. De’Shayne Montgomery and Karter Knox have been solid options off the bench in bursts and could contend for that starting spot. Montgomery and Knox each ended the game with 10 points.

Top transfer Flory Bidunga got things going early for the Cards, making two layups for the Cards who raced out to a 6-0 lead just 1:12 into the game warranting a timeout from the Lakers. Mercyhurst would outscore Louisville 5-2 the next three and a half minutes of game action and after a sloppy start the Cards led 8-5 with 15:10 left in the first half.

Advertisement

Louisville came out with a lineup of Alvaro Folgueiras, Seth Trimble, Montgomery, Knox and Obinna Ekezie Jr. The length and athleticism of that lineup had the Lakers scrambling after three easy lay-ups in a minute (Trimble, Folgueiras, Knox). The Cards continued to play with…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cards-cruise-past-mercyhurst-71-022840563.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-29 02:28:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.