How it happened: Bench pushes Louisville past SMU
Louisville was forced to respond following a historic road loss at No. 4 Duke, and did it with an emphatic second half in an 88-74 win over SMU.
Pat Kelsey’s team trailed by as many as 12 in the opening minutes, as the Cardinals watched the Mustangs tee off and make five of their first six threes. However, Louisville slowly chipped away, cutting the deficit to just three at halftime and then outscoring SMU by 17 in the second half.
Mikel Brown Jr. didn’t start after missing a day of practice with an illness this week, but still finished with a team-best 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The freshman also hit three triples and added four assists. But it wasn’t just the point guard who contributed. In total, the Cardinals outscored SMU 47-5 in bench points. Khani Rooths had a double-double in his first game back in over two weeks. His 10 rebounds were the most on the team, and he was 4-of-5 from the floor in just 20 minutes. Also providing a spark, senior Kobe Rodgers had seven points, three rebounds, and four assists, on top of the eight points and two assists from Aly Khalifa.
Isaac McKneely was quiet in the first half, finishing with just three points, but erupted for three triples and 11 second-half points. J’Vonne Hadley and Ryan Conwell were the other two Cards to touch double-figure scoring.
Louisville’s defense flipped the switch at the start of the second half, holding SMU to just 27 points after exiting the locker room. The Cardinals were the more rugged and physical team, winning on the glass and outscoring SMU 42-32 in the paint, plus the Mustangs turned it over 16 times with the Cards scoring 18 points off of them.
It’s ultimately one of the biggest wins of the year for Kelsey as the Cards pick up a quad-one win, their first at home during ACC play.
20th-ranked Louisville hosts Notre Dame in the KFC Yum! Center on Wednesday night.
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