HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky.—A second half dry spell foiled Bellarmine's dreams of back to back national titles as the Knights dropped a 79-72 decision to the University of Montevallo Saturday night in the NCAA Division II national semifinals in the Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
Bellarmine suffered through an 0-for-13 shooting slump and did not score from the 8:32 mark of the second half until just 43 seconds remained. Meanwhile the Falcons hit on 58.6 percent of their second half field goals and Montevallo turned around a 7-point second half deficit into a lead that grew to as many as 13.
Bellarmine Coach Davenport said, “(The scoring drought) was just some poor decision making, but quickness does that to you. (Montevallo) played with great urgency and forced some quick shots and forced some turnovers, and they turned those into easy baskets.”
Although early foul trouble limited the first half minutes of
Chris Dowe and
Jelani Johnson (who started in place of the injured
Keisten Jones), Bellarmine was able to maintain the lead for the majority of the first half on the strength of 57.7 percent shooting.
The Falcons were able to keep pace, however, thanks in large part to hitting five of seven first half 3-pointers as Bellarmine took a 36-35 halftime lead.
Davenport attributed Montevallo's first half shooting from long range as the difference maker in the game. “They go 5 for 7 in the first half from the 3-point line,” he said, “and in their losses, they had shot 19 percent. In the first half they shoot 71 percent,” he said adding that because of their shooting Bellarmine extended their defense, which resulted in Montevallo being able to drive the ball to the rim.”
Montevallo's D.J. Rivera, who earlier in the day was named to the NABC All-America squad alongside
Braydon Hobbs and
Jeremy Kendle, led all scorers with 23 as he converted 11 of 15 shots, but went 0-5 from the charity stripe.
Bellarmine was led by Dowe, who narrowly missed his fourth straight double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Kendle added 16 and Hobbs pitched in 13 as both dished out five assists.
Luke Sprague gutted through an injured right shoulder and finished with nine points.
For the game, Montevallo shot 54.5 percent to Bellarmine's 45.9 percent. As was the recurring theme in Bellarmine's rare losses this season, the big difference came in rebounding margin, where the Falcons held a 43-28 edge. Coming into the game, Montevallo was ninth in the country with a plus-9.5 rebounding margin.
Montevallo, ranked No. 22 in the final regular season NABC poll, improves to 29-7 and will face Western Washington in the national finals on Saturday afternoon.
Bellarmine ends its season with a 29-4 record, which ranks second in school history in both number of wins and winning percentage. In the past four years—the Knights are one of the nation's most successful teams amassing a record of 111 wins and just 22 losses including an impressive 13-3 mark in NCAA play.
“I don't feel one bit different about my basketball team than if we'd won by seven points,” Davenport said. “My love, my passion, my appreciation for what these kids have done for their university, for their families, for our entire community, both on and off campus, is second to none.”
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