Mikel Brown Jr. fielded the inbounds pass and bolted down Denny Crum Court as the final five seconds of the first half ticked away. A few steps past the Dunking Cardinal logo, he let it fly.
The ball touched nothing but net, capping a 21-3 run that gave Louisville basketball what was at that point its largest lead of the night over Bucknell, 56-39, entering the locker room. The five-star freshman wasn’t the only one who scorched the net during the No. 10 Cards’ 99-76 win over the Bison in the final exhibition before Year 2 of the Pat Kelsey era officially tips off.
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U of L needed only 16 minutes, 54 seconds to make 12 3-pointers, surpassing its total from last week’s loss to No. 19 Kansas, and finished the night with a 23-for-46 clip. Had this not been an exhibition game, Kelsey’s team would have set a new single-game record from beyond the arc — it remains 22 (vs. Hartford on Nov. 17, 2007).
Brown, who made only 2 of his 10 3s against the Jayhawks, accounted for a game-high eight on Tuesday – leading all scorers with 28 points in 26 minutes. The stats from this one don’t count, but the 6-foot-5 point guard came close to matching the program’s freshman single-game scoring record (32, LaBradford Smith vs. Cincinnati in 1988). He also tallied a game-high xx assists against only one turnover to boot.
All five of Louisville’s starters contributed double-digit performances: Isaac McKneely (18), Ryan Conwell (15), J’Vonne Hadley (11) and Sananda Fru (11).
Louisville opens the 2025-26 regular season against South Carolina State, a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program that posted a 20-13 record in 2024-25. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, at the Yum! Center.
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This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mikel Brown paces Louisville basketball to exhibition win vs Bucknell
