SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Bellarmine University men's basketball team are national champions. The Knights won the school's first NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating Brigham Young University-Hawaii, 71-68, in front of 2,906 fans at the MassMutual Center.
“We are now in elite company, and it is incredibly humbling,” Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport said during the championship news conference. “It is impossible to describe how difficult this was to achieve. They don't just give these away, and our guys deserve every bit of it.”
Jeremy Kendle and Chris Dowe each scored a team-high 16 points to pace the Knights, while Luke Sprague notched a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Brigham Young sharpshooter Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang poured in 35 points off 12-20 shooting, en route to Most Outstanding Player honors.
“I don't know if it has settled in yet,” Kendle said. “I couldn't thank my coaches, teammates, and our fans enough for all the support. This is something we'll be talking about in 20 and 30 years, and the rest of our lives.”
Kendle and Justin Benedetti, who scored 15 points in the winning effort, each landed a spot on the All-Tournament Team. They were joined by Corey Pelley (West Liberty) and Jefferson Mason (Minnesota State).
Nick Holmes iced the game with 2.1 seconds left with a free throw to conclude the game's scoring, seconds after a critical blocked shot and rebound for the senior forward. Holmes personifies the adversity members of the team have been forced to overcome on their way to the title. He finished the game with six rebounds and two points.
“It's only fitting that Nick Holmes would score his final collegiate point at the free throw line in a national championship game,” Davenport said.
Bellarmine held a four-point lead at 69-65 with 23.3 seconds to play when Braydon Hobbs hit the second of two free throws. BYU-Hawaii's Heath Gameren drilled a step-back three-pointer from the right wing to keep the Seasiders alive, setting up the final possession.
Benedetti collected two of the most important steals of his career in a span of 36 seconds. The first, a swipe off a Chang dribble, led to a Dowe runner from the left baseline over two defenders, giving BU a 68-65 lead with 59 seconds remaining. The second, off a Jake Dastrup pass, led to a quick timeout.
On the return to play, the officials ruled that Kendle had his foot on the right sideline when he jumped to catch the inbounds pass. Undeterred, the Knights forced Chang to make a bad dribble off his foot and out of bounds with 30 seconds remaining.
Chang's rebound and coast-to-coast layup at the 17:24 mark of the second half gave the Seasiders a 48-47 lead. It was the last time BYU-Hawaii would hold the advantage in the game. Just 17 seconds later, Marques Whippy, the second-leading rebounder in the nation, picked up his third foul. Staying in the game, Whippy recorded his fourth foul at the 16:26 mark, which drew him an immediate pass to the bench.
With the Knights holding a 58-53 lead at the 12:33 mark and after the first of two Holmes' free throws went through the net, Sprague pulled down the back-end shot and was fouled by Chang, his fourth of the game. When Chang returned to the Seasiders lineup with 9:23 to play, the BU margin was up to seven.
Sprague connected on a three-pointer from the left wing as the shot clock expired with 7:33 to play to give Bellarmine a 63-55 lead, their largest of the second half.
BU gained momentum towards the end of the first half with a Dowe alley-oop dunk from Kendle to tie the game at 37. Kendle added a jumper on the next Bellarmine possession, only to have BYU-Hawaii answer with a three of their own.
With time ticking down in the frame, Kendle drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key. Hobbs stole the BYU-H inbounds pass, fired the ball to a streaking Benedetti in the middle of the lane for a layup and foul. Benedetti missed the foul shot, but the Knights took a 47-43 lead into intermission.
The Knights avoided the deficits that have been bestowed upon the squad early in recent games. Sprague opened the scoring with a left wing jumper. Later, Kendle swiped the ball out of Jet Chang's hands, took the ball up the court, sent a behind-the-back pass to Hobbs who returned the ball to Kendle for an easy lay-in, giving the Knights a 15-9 lead.
Bellarmine recorded its largest lead of the half at 18-9 on the next possession as Hobbs connected on a transition three-point attempt. Chang took over the game shortly after, willing the Seasiders to a six-point lead at 35-29 with 6:42 remaining when he dished the ball to Junior Ale for a three point advantage.
The win was the culmination of a season-long journey for the Bellarmine coaches, players, and support staff. Representing not only the university, the team has been embraced by the greater community, and showed a nationwide audience an exciting brand of basketball played by student-athletes who conduct themselves with class and dignity.
“When I took this job six years ago, it was because Bellarmine University fits in complete agreement with what I believe in academically, socially, and athletically,” Davenport said. “We competed as students, sons, and young men, and now we have a national championship to bring home.”
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