Louisville opened the Pat Kelsey era with a bang on Monday, whipping visiting Morehead State 93-45 in both teams’ season opener.

James Scott threw home an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Chucky Hepburn in the game’s first minute, and the Cardinals never looked back. However, it was defense that carried Louisville throughout the first half.

While Kelsey’s team went just 6-for-20 on 3-point shots before the break, the Cardinals held the Eagles to just 1-of-21 shooting from the field over the final 13:23 of the first half. Louisville took advantage of Morehead State’s poor shooting, using runs of 14-1 and 11-2 to build a 41-14 lead at intermission.

Louisville found its stroke after halftime, shooting 48.7 percent overall in the second half and 45.1 percent for the game. The Cardinals led by as many as 50, doing so with 3:02 left in the contest.

Kasean Pryor led the new-look Cardinals, coming off the bench to finish with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was one of five players who scored in double figures for Louisville. J’Vonne Hadley added 15 points, with Scott, Terrence Edwards Jr. and Reyne Smith scoring 12 apiece.

Kelsey emptied the bench on Monday, with 14 players getting minutes and 12 scoring in the rout.

The Eagles, who also welcomed a new coach to the bench in Jonathan Mattox, couldn’t find their rhythm in the second half after the poor showing in the first. They ended up shooting just 37.5 percent following the break and finished at 23.1 percent for the game.

The 48-point beatdown was Morehead State’s worst loss since a 101-49 setback against Xavier on Nov. 10, 2017.

Kenny White Jr. led the Eagles with 14 points. No other Morehead State player finished with more than six points, with Dieonte Miles contributing six points and 11 rebounds.

–Field Level Media