The Cards roared to a 16-2 advantage and never let their visitors from a Division II program in northeastern Georgia envision they could deliver an upset similar to the ones that Lenoir-Ryne (October 2022) or Kentucky Wesleyan (October 2023) did the last two painful seasons.
Louisville 106, Young Harris 59. Kelsey’s team took 56 of their 78 field goal attempts from distance, making 24.
“I believe (the high volume of threes) will kind of be a trend,” said guard Reyne Smith, who made 6 of 8 from distance. “It’s a big emphasis for us to get the best shot possible every time.”
The best shot can mean the most open shot. It can also mean the most efficient shot. And the wise coaches will take a solid three-point attempt over a reasonable mid-range shot worth two points.
That’s the most threes that a Louisville men’s team has made in a game — and the threes came from eight players, lead by Edwards who hit 6 of 11 while scoring 24 points. Smith had 20. Credit Hepburn with 11 as well as seven assists.
Kelsey’s team took nearly 47% of its shots from deep last season at the College of Charleston and more than 47% in 2022. Kelsey was not ready to commit to a team taking 72% of its shots from three. In fact, he said that he was more nervous prior to this game than he had been in any game of his 12-season head coaching career.
“I was totally out of sorts,” he said. “We don’t talk about shooting threes. “Our major focus is playing off the attack. Then the threes sort of present themselves.”
The Cards had 63 points at halftime. Louisville scored 28 in its first half loss to Lenoir-Rhyne and 26 against Kentucky Wesleyan last season. They did not score more than 54 points in a half in any game last season.
