Terrence Edwards Jr., Louisville cruise past Bellarmine

Terrence Edwards Jr., scored 26 points to lead host Louisville to a 100-68 victory over Bellarmine on Tuesday.

The win marked just the second time since November 2018 that the Cardinals scored 100 or more points in a game.

Edwards, a transfer from James Madison and last season's Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, made 10 of 14 from the floor. He was among five Cardinals who scored in double figures. Kasean Pryor finished with 21 and seven rebounds.

Chucky Hepburn scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and added five assists. J'Vonne Hadley added 10 points, and James Scott made 5 of 6 from the floor as part of a 10-point, eight-rebound performance for Louisville (2-1).

Ben Johnson scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Knights (0-5), who played without leading scorer Jack Karasinski (back issues). Billy Smith pitched in with 15.

Playing for the first time in 10 days, the Cardinals came out firing. They shot 60 percent in the first half (18 of 30) and connected on 7-of-17 3-point attempts. That was a marked improvement from the starts in their first two games. In the first halves of those games, they shot a combined 32.3 percent and sank just 11-of-43 shots from beyond the arc.

Bellarmine (0-5) shot 45.8 percent (11 of 24) in the first half, but the Cardinals forced their crosstown rival into committing 10 turnovers, allowing them to take control.

They broke the game open with a 13-2 run, taking a 43-23 lead with 4:37 left in the first half. Edwards, who scored 12 points in the first half, ignited the run by scoring the first five points.

The Knights cut the deficit to 15 twice in the second half but could not draw any closer. Louisville led by as many as 34 in the game's waning moments.

Before the game, Louisville announced that senior starting forward Aboubacar Traore will miss several weeks because of a broken arm. The 6-foot-5 native of the Ivory Coast transferred to Louisville from Long Beach State, where he earned All-Big West honors last season. He is averaging 1.5 points, five rebounds, two assists and 1.5 blocks for two games.

--Field Level Media