The Bellarmine Knights Defeat Louisville’s Rally to Attempt to Beat Cardinals, 67-66

The University of Louisville men’s basketball team lost to Bellarmine 67 to 66 on Wednesday, in its season opener at KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (0-1) held Bellarmine scoreless in the final 4:41 of this game. They finished the game on an 11-0 run but could not regain the lead.

Kenny Payne, UofL head coach, stated that there was growth. It wasn’t all bad. We lost that one-sided game. There were 20 possessions that were lost, if you look back from the beginning until the end. We just gave up on defensive lapses. To the locker room guys, I am saying: “possession by defensively, make as much as you can.” Let me repeat that, “possession by possession defensively,” make it as difficult as possible for your opponent, especially on defense. This is because if you give a team like theirs, a very athletic passing team, and allow them wide open back cuts, offensive rebound, wide open threes, they are just ripping you apart. You must be disciplined and solid to maintain that ability. You must know what they’re doing. We weren’t very solid, we weren’t really disciplined, even though we were disciplined in spurts.

“They deserved the win. They are a well-coached and skilled team. The players out-played them, they were the aggressors who put our heels down. They get a 10-point lead, a team like that, that makes 12 to 15 passes, you better understand how hard you have to defend – or you lose by one point.”

Bellarmine’s final points were scored by Garrett Tipton, who scored a basket with 4:41 left. He was followed by a Louisville surge.

Sophomore forward Brandon Huntley–Hatfield scored back-to-back points for UofL. Redshirt junior forward Jae’Lyn Withers scored four points.

Redshirt forward and guard Mike James, a freshman from Redshirt, buried a 3 pointer with 1:01 remaining to make it a one point game. The Knights (1-0), however, won the game with no further scoring.

James stated that he believes the difference was down to the stretch. “We became more desperate.” We knew we had a run, and when we were down 10 we knew we had a run. We couldn’t allow them to get an easy look, so we became more desperate. Coach Payne was telling me that. We need to pitch a shutout. We must be more desperate and play as if our lives depend on it. I believe that if we play like this from the tip through, we will be a very solid defensive team. I believe we will see different outcomes. Give them credit. They were able to score some impressive shots. They were able to run their offense. They stuck to their guns. But I think it would be fine if we just carried that over to the next match, how we played those last five to eight minute, it would be fine.”

Withers led Louisville with 17 points, while James had 16 points in his college debut – the fifth-most ever by a Cardinal freshman in their first game.

El Ellis, the senior guard, scored 14 points and had five assists. Huntley Hatfield finished with nine points and ten rebounds, and three assists.

Louisville opened the game with an 13-5 run, but Bellarmine responded with a 19-2 run to make it 24-15 with 9 minutes remaining in the half.

The Knights led by as much at 14 with 6:51 remaining in the frame, and 41-30 at the halftime break before the Cardinals began to chip away.

Ellis made a transition layup to cap a 7-0 run to cut UofL’s deficit at 50-46 with 12 minutes remaining. Kamari Lands made a pair free throws to make it a game of four points at 59-55 with six:41 to go.

Bellarmine responded with an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 67-55. These were the Knights’ last points, but it was enough for the win.

Bellarmine’s Tipton was the leader with 21 points.

The Cardinals will continue a three-game homestand against Wright State to open the regular season at 1 p.m. ET Saturday at KFC Yum! Center. The game will stream live on ACC Network Extra.

Huntley-Hatfield stated, “We want every game to be won.” “We want to make an impact every night. We will look at the film and fix the mistakes. We must take more pride and be more disciplined in our defense. These mistakes must be corrected. Then, watch the film. Retrace your steps. For the next few days, practice hard. Then, we’ll be out on Saturday to show it.”