George Mason hate week starts now.
Deng Adel scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Louisville wrapped up its preseason with a 72-57 win over Bellarmine Tuesday night at the KFC Yum Center.
Despite Adel’s performance, it was an uneven performance from the Cards, one where they turned the ball over 20 times and recorded just three steals of their own. U of L made up for those errors by using their superior size to out-rebound Bellarmine, 43-25.
After the game, Louisville head coach David Padgett chose to give most of the credit for U of L’s at times sloppy play to the visiting team.
“I knew it was going to be like this,” Padgett said. “I would not be shocked if that team wins a national championship in Division-II. They are that talented and they are that well-coached. They just play together.”
V.J. King was the only other Louisville player to score in double figures, netting 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Like Adel, though, his point total was slightly sullied by the fact that he turned the ball over five times.
All 10 Bellarmine players who saw the court Thursday night played double-digit minutes. The Knights were led in scoring by senior reserve Brent Bach, who came off the bench to total 12 points.
After a pair of Red-White Scrimmages and two exhibition victories, Louisville now turns its focus to Sunday and the official start of its 2017-18 season. The Cardinals will host George Mason at 2 p.m.
“We had a little adversity and I think that’s good for me and good for our players,” Padgett said about Thursday night’s game. “Now we’ve just gotta get ready for Sunday, because now it starts to count.”
