INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—In a battle of top 15 teams, the No. 8 Bellarmine Knights went on the road and pulled out a 77-68 victory over the No. 11 Indianapolis Greyhounds in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game in front of 3,121 fans at Nicoson Hall on Saturday night.

The game was every bit as good as the pre-game buildup with neither team holding more than a five-point lead until the Knights pulled away in the last two and a half minutes.  The Knights' strong finish was fueled by a clutch 3-point basket by Max Clemons at the 2:27 mark off a dish from Chris Dowe.

Bellarmine (15-2, 7-2 GLVC), one of the best shooting teams in the country, was held to their season low of 40.7 percent shooting, but more than made up for it by sinking 33 of 36 free throws.

“That was two great college basketball teams playing,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, extoling the outstanding credentials of both squads. “But when you go 33 for 36 from the line that is mind boggling to me,” he said.

“The last 10 minutes of this game was gutty poise-wise and execution-wise,” Davenport added.  “It's one thing to say you have to be fundamentally sound, but in the end you have to go out and do it, and when they execute like that you have to overwhelmingly proud of these players."

The first half was a struggle for the Knights, hitting just nine of 28 field goal attempts.  Luckily for Bellarmine, Keisten Jones had a hot hand, and the 6-3 junior pumped in 13 first half points to help keep the Knights competitive as UIndy took a slim 29-28 lead into halftime.

After the break, neither team could get separation.  Bellarmine inched ahead by five on two different occasions, but the Greyhounds answered both times.  Vance Hall finally extended the lead to seven with a pair of free throws at the 3:09 mark.   

UIndy's Tyrae Robinson converted a pair of charity tosses on the ensuing possession, but then Clemons hit his crucial trey with just five seconds on the shot clock to provide a comfortable 65-57 margin with 2:27 remaining.

Dowe gave the Knights the only double-digit lead of the game by knocking down two free throws after skying for a defensive rebound on the other end.

To the Greyhounds' credit, they didn't go quietly, and Reece Cheatham canned a deep three just seconds later.  However, Bellarmine kept up their hot shooting from the free throw line to secure the victory.

Five players scored in double digits for the Knights with Clemons netting 10, Jake Thelen and Hall pumping in 12 apiece, Dowe adding 17 and Jones finishing with 18.  Hall also pulled in a career high 11 rebounds on the night to record his first double-double.

The Greyhounds (14-3, 6-3 GLVC) also exhibited a balanced attack with four double digit scorers, led by Cheatham's 18.

One of the keys to victory for the Knights was limiting UIndy's scoring opportunities, and they accomplished that by winning the battle of the backboards 31-28 and allowing just four offensive boards to the Hounds.  Bellarmine also protected the ball.  UIndy came in tops in the league for turnover margin, yet the Knights coughed it up just 10 times while keep the margin even by forcing 10 Greyhound miscues.

The win kept Bellarmine atop the East Division standings of the GLVC, where they share the same 7-2 conference mark with Southern Indiana and Wisconsin-Parkside.  The tie will be broken on Thursday night when Bellarmine will travel to Evansville to take on the Screaming Eagles. 

Bellarmine will return to Knights Hall on Saturday, Feb. 2 when they'll put their 28-game and longest home winning streak in Division II on the line with a homecoming game against Kentucky Wesleyan.  (Shorter University, which had won 30 in row at home, lost tonight in a home contest against Alabama-Huntsville.)