Cardinals Move to 2-0 With Four Double Digit Scorers Against Jackson State

Thursday, November 6

LOUISVILLE, KY

7 p.m.

University of Louisville

2-0,0-0ACC

106

Jackson State

0-2,0-0SWAC

Jackson St.

Louisville

106

Cardinals Move to 2-0 With Four Double Digit Scorers Against Jackson State

November 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Sananda Fru, Kasean Pryor, Ryan Conwell Press Conference Pat Kelsey Press Conference Postgame Notes

Ryan Conwell, Mikel Brown Jr., Khani Rooths and Sananda Fru all scored in double digits in a 106-70 takedown of the Tigers

By: Sara Miller

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 11-ranked University of Louisville men's basketball team moves to 2-0 on the season with a 106-70 win over Jackson State Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

"I give Coach Mo Williams a lot of credit at Jackson State," said head coach Pat Kelsey. "The first two games, from a defensive standpoint, I just saw a different team out there and that is the mark of a good coach. I think how those guys got beaten really badly at Illinois and I watched every second of it. You can go farther that way (down) or you can draw a line. And you can just tell what they did, so a tip of the cap to them. I thought those guys came out ready to compete. Their point guard was a former McDonald's All-American, he is a handful – that guy can go. They have a bunch of really good one-on-one players. I am proud of our guys. We got all of our metrics that we look at … effort, rebounding standpoint, all those things. (Vangelis) Zougris had three offensive rebounds in ten minutes of play. Sananda Fru had four offensive rebounds. And Jackson State had five offensive rebounds in the first six minutes of the game. They only had two the rest of the game and we held them to 17 percent. So, I was very, very pleased."

"I thought Kobe Rodgers was a catalyst off the bench for us," Kelsey continued. "As captain, his job is to raise the level of intensity when he comes into the game. I thought he did a phenomenal job of accepting that role, embracing that role. Kobe had seven, five, four and no turnovers. That is what his job is, and he did a really good job of that. Khani (Rooths) continued to impress tonight. We always say 'next man up' and when J'vonne (Hadley) went down then Khani stepped up. It was so awesome of see Kasean (Pryor) out there. That is a long, grueling, lonely journey. To recover like an injury like that. I have never had an ACL injury, but I have been around a lot of players who have. Kobe (Rodgers) got hurt for us at the College of Charleston in his last game. That moment when they check back into the game, shout out to our fan base and the people at the KFC Yum! tonight for the ovation that Kasean (Pryor) got which was well-deserved. It was great to see him out there tonight. It will take a little time and he will get incrementally more comfortable and better. It was awesome to see him out there flying around being KP, deflecting and wreaking havoc and stuff like that. It was really, really good to see."

Louisville used the starting lineup of Mikel Brown Jr., Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, Khani Rooths and Sananda Fru. A total of 13 players reached the court for the Cards in the matchup.

Jackson State got on the board first and held an early 4-2 advantage, but Louisville quickly used a 19-2 run to take a commanding lead and never lost control of it for the remainder of the game.

The Cards took a 53-35 lead into the break after holding two of the Tigers' starters scoreless in the first half. Coming out of the locker room, Louisville nearly doubled its lead by the end of the game to secure a 106-70 victory over Jackson State.

The win was a balanced effort by the Cards with 11 players scoring in the contest, four of which reached double-figures - Conwell (19), Brown (18), Rooths (16) and Fru (12).

Rooths earned his first career double-double in the contest by combining his 16 points with a career-high 10 rebounds in 24 minutes of play.

The Cards made 35 field goals off of 67 attempts while connecting on 10 triples. Defensively, Louisville held Jackson State to 39 percent shooting and forced 12 turnovers.

Tonight's win marks the first time the Cards have opened up the season 2-0 in five years and the first time in program history they have opened the season with two 100-point games.

The Cards will continue their homestand by hosting the Battle of the Bluegrass against No. 9 Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.