After more than a few anxious opening night moments, the Louisville men’s basketball team was able to pull away from a worn down Southern squad and begin its 2021-22 campaign with a 72-60 victory.
Despite entering the night as a 25.5-point favorite, the Cardinals led by just a bucket at halftime and found themselves trailing by two three minutes into the second half. Some timely shooting by Noah Locke and some gritty play from the forward duo of Samuell Williamson and Matt Cross — who played valiantly despite seeing a finger be dislocated into a 90-degree angle near the end of the first half — allowed the home team to seize and maintain control of the contest for the remainder of the evening.