LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Flory Bidunga scored 16 points in his debut for No. 11 Louisville, which jumped out early but struggled late in an 84-70 victory Monday night over Chattanooga.
Adrian Wooley added 15 points for the Cardinals (1-0), who won their fourth straight season opener and third under coach Pat Kelsey. Seth Trimble and Jackson Shelstad finished with 13 each, while Alvaro Folgueiras scored 10 as Louisville shot 44.1% (30 for 68).
Zach Bleshoy
and Yonatan Levy led Chattanooga with 14 points apiece.
The Cardinals missed their first shot but then hit 10 of the next 11 to build a 23-11 lead after Bidunga's dunk with 13:43 remaining in the first half. That lead grew to 55-30 less than two minutes before halftime.
Not only did Louisville shoot well to start, the Cardinals also held the Mocs (0-1) off the glass, owning a 21-11 rebounding edge in the first half, with eight offensive boards.
The second half was a different story as Louisville shot just 29% (9 of 31) and missed its first 12 3-point attempts after halftime en route to a 1-for-16 second half from long range.
Louisville went without a basket in the final 4:13 and made just two of its last 11 shots.
However, the Mocs also struggled in the second half. After going 7 of 15 on 3-pointers in the first period, they were 5 for 18 in the second.
Bidunga, who came to Louisville after he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year last season for Kansas, shot 6 of 9 from the floor. He added nine rebounds and three steals.
Karter Knox finished with nine points and 11 rebounds for Louisville, but limped off the court in the final minute after a hard fall.
Chattanooga shot 43.9% (25 for 57) and committed 18 turnovers.
Chattanooga visits Penn State on Thursday.
Louisville hosts Morehead State on Saturday.
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