No. 19 Louisville overcame a sluggish start offensively to roll over visiting Southern Illinois 84 – 52. The Cardinals led 29 – 18 at halftime, but came alive in the second half. Shooting 59 percent in the second half will get any team back on track and it fueled the Cards.
Deng Adel was the only Louisville starter in double figures with 16 points. He also contributed seven rebounds and four steals. However, it was the bench, and mostly the newcomers, who led the Cardinals. Jordan Nwora, Darius Perry and Dwayne Sutton played outstanding on both ends of the floor for U of L. Nwora led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Perry continued his hot start with 10 points and a game-high 7 assists with only 1 turnover. Sutton finished with eight points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
David Padgett was most pleased with the Cards first complete game saying, “We played well for 40 minutes, and that’s what I told the guys before the game. I said ‘We’ve played well in our first two games in stretches, 26 minutes, 28 minutes, but we haven’t put together a complete, 40 minute yet.’ That’s what I wanted to see.”
The Cardinals moved to 3 – 0 on the season while Southern Illinois fell to 2 – 1.
Louisville returns to the KFC Yum Center on Friday night to take on St. Francis.
