Another day in paradise for Pat Kelsey’s inaugural Louisville men’s basketball team.
University of Calgary proved to be tougher competition than Bahamas national teambut the Cardinals never trailed and led by as many as 47 points on the way to a 111-71 exhibition victory on Thursday afternoon, ending their two-game stint in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League in Nassau.
Kelsey said after Tuesday night’s 52-point win over the Bahamas that her team was approaching this overseas trip with a regular-season mindset. If his main goal was to build good habits with a revamped squad, he should go home happy.
Many were on display on Thursday against a more cohesive opponent.
Before we begin, it’s important to note that Calgary plays in Canada’s premier sports association and is just six years removed from winning a national championship.
The Dinos’ head coach, Dan Vanhoorenis entering his 25thth season at the helm and returned to the core of a team that went 20-12 in 2023-24. On a trip to Greece last summer, they went 0-4 in two games each against Wichita State and Yale (an NCAA tournament team), but lost by an average margin of just 10.3 points.
“They’re experienced; they’re veterans; they can shoot from every position,” Kelsey said of Calgary after Tuesday’s win. “I told our guys, ‘We need to be ready to play on Thursday.'”
They were.
U of L surpassed the century mark with 7:32 left in the second half. He shot 52.1% from the field (12 of 31 from 3-point range), recorded 22 assists on 37 goals scored, dominated the glass (53-25) and outscored the Dinos 25-2 in second-chance opportunities.
Kasean Pryor led the Cards in scoring with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from 3). He was one of five players to reach double figures; the others are Koren Johnson (15), Terrence Edwards Jr. (14), J’Vonne Hadley (13) and Noah Waterman (10).
Defensively, Louisville held the Dinos to 31% shooting (8 of 27 from 3) and only seven scored during the second half. He also turned 13 forced turnovers into 20 points.
Kelsey’s team will have two more exhibitions before the 2024-25 season officially begins on November 4 against Morehead State at the KFC Yum! Center.
One of those games will be against Young Harris College, a Division II program in Georgia. The other opponent has not yet been announced.
This story will be updated.
Contact Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on the X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Basketball: Balanced scoring leads Cardinals over Calgary
