Noah Locke’s late 3-pointer helped host Louisville hold off Detroit Mercy, 73-67, on Saturday afternoon.
Locke, who finished with 16 points, drained a trey with 1:17 left to snap a 67-67 tie. Jarrod West finished off the win by making 3 of 4 free throws for the Cardinals (3-1).
Dre Davis led Louisville with a season-high 18 points and added nine rebounds. Malik Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Detroit Mercy (0-4), which came in allowing 81.0 points per game on 53.4 percent shooting, stayed within striking distance of the Cardinals throughout the contest.
Antoine Davis, one of the more prolific scorers in the country with more than 2,000 career points, led the Titans with a game-high 27 points, sinking six 3-pointers. Madut Akec had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Akec’s pair of free throws brought the Titans to within 66-63 with 4:55 left
Leading 42-35 at the half, Louisville extended its lead to 50-37 on Williams’ free throw with 14:46 left.
But Detroit Mercy didn’t back down, using an 11-4 surge and getting within 57-51 on Antoine Davis’ 3-pointer at the 9:44 mark.
In the opening half, Louisville shot 58 percent from the field and sank 6 of 12 3-point attempts. Locke had 11 points at the half.
Antoine Davis and Akec were an effective tandem early, pacing the Titans with 12 and 11 points respectively before halftime.
Kevin McAdoo’s jumper gave Detroit Mercy a 28-23 lead with 6:38 before the half, but Louisville battled back with a 5-0 spurt and knotted the game on a Dre Davis layup with 5:24 remaining.
Louisville closed out the half with a 7-0 run.
–Field Level Media
