Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The Bellarmine University Knights came up short in its attempt to capture its third Great Lakes Valley Conference title in five  years as the No. 20 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles hit on all cylinders in the second half to capture the conference title game 86-73 on Sunday at the Ford Center.

The Knights led at halftime 32-31, but the Screaming Eagles roared back with an 8-of-11 three point shooting performance in the second period to pull away from Bellarmine, which hit just 3-of-11 second half treys.  Southern Indiana's second half performance also included a 25-13 advantage on the glass.

"(USI) made two threes each of the first two times we played them, and tonight they made nine, so give them credit for that," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "But I couldn't be more proud of these kids.  We've played three of the best teams in the country the past three days, and these kids played their hearts out."

In the opening period, neither team could make a run as the largest lead was four when the Knights went up 10-6 at the 13:43 mark.  Bellarmine got contributions from all over the court in the opening 20 minutes with five players scoring five or more.  Freshman Rusty Troutman had a big first period by claiming nine rebounds and scoring six points.

After the break, the Knights just had no answer for the Southern Indiana rebounding game, which helped fuel the Screaming Eagles' outside game.  "It's the backboard," said Davenport when asked about USI's 3-point shooting. "You have to give up something, and we sold out trying to get to the on the backboard because they were dominating the glass in the second half. They're the best rebounding team in the country; it's not even close statistically."

For the game, Bellarmine and USI shot 44 percent from the field, but the Screaming Eagles made up the different by taking five more shots, hitting three more treys, and converting 21 of 26 free throws.

The Knights had six players in double figures with George Suggs leading the way with 14.  Troutman finished with a double-double scoring 11 and pulling down 12 rebounds.  Southern Indiana was led by Aaron Nelson with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Bellarmine moves to 23-7 on the year while USI improves to 25-5.

The Knights now await word from the NCAA on making the tournament field, which will be revealed on a webcast at 10:30 p.m. at http://www.ncaa.com/live/player?vid=2014/1346&date=2014/03/09.

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