Louisville survives scare from Detroit Mercy, 73-67

Thanks to a clutch three-pointer from Noah Locke and some timely defense from Jarrod West, Louisville narrowly avoided a disastrous home loss to Detroit Mercy, outlasting their guests by a final score of 73-67.

Locke’s off-balance shot from the right wing came with 1:17 to play and the score tied at 67. West then forced a turnover by Detroit Mercy star Antoine Davis, putting Louisville in the driver’s seat for the final 45 seconds of play.

The made shot was sweet redemption for Locke, who missed a three-pointer in a similar situation with the score tied last Friday against Furman. The Cardinals ultimately lost that game to the Paladins in overtime.

Dre Davis led all U of L players with 18 points, narrowly missing out on his first double-double of the season with nine rebounds. Locke hit four of his six attempts from beyond the arc and finished with 16 points. Malik Williams played his best basketball of the young season, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

Davis, the son of Detroit head coach Mike Davis and one of the most electrifying scorers in the country, finished with a season-high 27 points for the Titans. Madut Akec, the younger brother of former Cardinal Deng Adel, added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

That was certainly ... something.

Let’s win at least one in the Bahamas, get our head coach back, and then see if we have something here in December.