Box Score LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Starting their 2013 postseason at home, the No. 15 Bellarmine Knights rolled to a 79-57 victory over Illinois-Springfield in an opening round game of the 2013 Deaconess GLVC Basketball  Championship Tournament at Knights Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Dowe led the way for the fifth-seeded Knights with a 21-point, 8-rebound effort to post game highs in both statistics. 

The Knights and the 12-seeded Prairie Stars played fairly evenly over the first half, but Bellarmine grabbed the momentum going into halftime as Ryan Burton nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Knights a 10-point cushion, 40-30.

In the second half, Bellarmine played well on both ends of the court, shooting 51.6 percent while holding the Prairie Stars to just 29.6 percent second half shooting. The Bellarmine lead swelled to 19 just 4:05 into the second half, and the Knights cruised to the 22-point victory.

“Every game we have goals offensively and defensively,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "We wanted them under 40 percent shooting, and they shoot 38-5 for the game, 29 and change in the second half.  We wanted them under six 3-pointers, and they were right on the number.  Conversely, we shoot 51 percent and 80 from the line.  We had 21 assists; our goal was 20.  The only negative was the 15 turnovers, but sometimes turnovers are out of commission when we're trying to do positive things. So I'm just really, really proud of them tonight.”

Joining Dowe in double figures for the Knights were Keisten Jones with 10 and Jelani Johnson added 11 with a solid all-around game that also included five assists and five rebounds. 

Bellarmine's leading scorer on the year, Vance Hall, was held to just seven points, but the Frankfort, Ky., native led all players with six assists.

Freshman Max Clemons gave the Knights Hall faithful something to cheer about coming down the stretch.  With 3:11 on the clock, the Pleasure Ridge Park alumnus hit a triple then nailed two more in the next 1:23 to help give Bellarmine their biggest lead of the game at 22 points.

Illinois-Springfield (8-19) was paced by West Dawson's 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Knights, who improved to 21-6 on the season, now move on to the GLVC quarterfinals, where they will meet the fourth-seeded Maryville Saints on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. (noon, central) in the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. 

Tickets for the 2013 Deaconess GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament are now on sale through ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000, or through the Ford Center box office at (812) 422-1515.  All-Tournament passes are $35, while Session Flex Passes are $25, allowing you access to any two of the first six sessions, excluding Sunday's finals.  Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students with a valid ID, while children aged six and under are admitted free of charge.
 
GLVC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL