Ryan Conwell scored 19 points as No. 11 Louisville cruised to a 106-70 victory over visiting Jackson State on Thursday.
The Cardinals (2-0) were without starter J’Vonne Hadley, who is in the concussion protocol, but they welcomed back Kasean Pryor, a 6-foot-10 senior who played seven games last season before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee nearly a year ago in the Battle 4 Atlantis final against Oklahoma.
Pryor made his 2025-26 debut and received a standing ovation from the KFC Yum Center crowd as he came off the bench with 16:27 left in the first half.
Louisville broke the game open with a 19-2 run over a nearly six-minute span early in the game. A pair of Khani Rooths free throws put Louisville up 21-6 with 12:56 left in the first half.
Conwell, a senior guard who played at Xavier last season, scored 14 points in the first half to help the Cardinals establish a 50-29 lead with 2:41 remaining before halftime.
A 17-3 run allowed the Cardinals to extend their lead to 74-40 with under 14 minutes remaining.
Rooths, who scored a career-high 20 in Monday’s 104-45 victory over South Carolina State, finished with 16 points and set a career-high with 10 rebounds as the sophomore made his first career start.
The Tigers (0-2) were coming off a 113-55 loss at No. 17 Illinois on Monday. They shot 39.7% but could not handle Louisville’s size inside as the Cardinals outscored them 50-26 in the paint.
Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. added 18 points and nine assists, while Sananda Fru finished with 12 points.
Pryor, who averaged 12 points a game last season for Louisville, finished with six points in 16 minutes on the court.
Daeshun Ruffin led Jackson State with 22 points. Jayme Mitchell Jr. added 20 while shooting 8-for-10, while Dorian McMillian finished with 18.
As the game ended with Louisville running out the clock, the crowd shouted “Beat UK,” a reference to Louisville’s next game, Tuesday at home against No. 9 Kentucky.
–Field Level Media
