Box Score CINCINNATI—The Bellarmine University men's basketball team, ranked No. 1 in virtually all preseason NCAA Div. II polls, pushed the Div. 1 No. 14 Xavier Musketeers to the limit before dropping a 76-73 decision tonight in an exhibition game played at the Cintas Center.

Last season, the Knights surprised Xavier 63-61 in an exhibition, so there was no sneaking up on the Musketeers this year.  However, the game was close throughout with Xavier's biggest lead being six while the Knights led by five on several occasions. In all, there were 10 ties and 11 lead changes in the game.  

“It was an amazing game,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport.  “This was a defining night for our basketball team…we had 19 assists and we held them to seven offensive rebounds. Against Duke and Louisville we got beat by 35 on the backboards.  This is a great night for Bellarmine basketball.”

The Knights owned a 39-36 halftime advantage, but in the end, it was Xavier's Tu Holloway—last year's Atlantic 10 Player of the Year--making four free throws in the game's final 12 seconds to ice it for the home team.

Bellarmine did have one last chance, but Chris Dowe appeared to lose his footing as he attempted a last second 3-pointer.

The Knights led by senior All-American Braydon Hobbs, who posted a game-high 21 points thanks to 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.  Hobbs' backcourt running mate, All-American Jeremy Kendle, was limited to just seven points as the Xavier defense bottled him up for just 3-fo-14 shooting.  However, the Jeffersonville native had a game high seven assists.

“We don't let offense define our basketball team,” Davenport said. “We had two starters go eight of 26, and they both played great,” he added.

Xavier relied heavily on their inside play as they outscored Bellarmine 38-16 inside the paint.  The Musketeers were led by Mark Lyons with 20 points while 7-foot, 275 pound center Kenny Frease totaled 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and hauled in 10 rebounds. Holloway also chipped in 18 for the X-men.

The Musketeers took advantage of their close range shots to make 26 of 44 attempts for 59.1 percent. Xavier was just four of 10 from 3-point range.  By contrast, Bellarmine put up 29 3-pointers, converting 12.  Overall the Knights were 25 of 53 for 47.2 percent.

Bellarmine was playing its third exhibition game in less than a week, with all three opponents being Division I teams ranked in the top 15. The Knights opened with No. 6 Duke on Saturday, then took on No. 8 Louisville on Thursday.

The Knights open their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m. in Knights Hall against Saginaw Valley State.

“On Saturday, it will have been 242 days since we last played in Knights Hall,” Davenport said.  “We start the run right now because in Division II every game counts…Saginaw Valley is a regional game.” 
 
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