EVANSVILLE, Ind.-The No. 11 Midwestern State Mustangs turned up the intensity on the defensive end to overcome an 11-point second half deficit to pull out a 77-71 victory over the No. 3 Bellarmine Knights in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic tonight at the University of Southern Indiana.

The Knights (3-2) went scoreless from the field from the 5:54 mark until just 32 seconds remained in the game. During that span, Bellarmine missed nine field goal attempts and the Mustangs went on a 16-2 run.

Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said the Knights' lack of passing cost his team a chance at winning. "The first half we had 12 baskets on 10 assists, and in the second half we had 13 on six assists," he said. "That's the game.

"They (Midwestern State) defend exactly the same as Cincinnati," Davenport explained. "You go by the first wave there's going to be a second and third wave come coming. When we passed, we got anything we wanted. We shot 50 percent the first half and 38 in the second and our assists go from 10 to six. We didn't pass the ball, and that's why we got beat."

The Mustangs (4-1) led the entire first period, capitalizing on the 3-point shot to establish an 11-point lead. Midwestern State hit five of their first seven triples as they opened up a 25-14 margin at the 9:05 mark. The Knights battled back scoring 18 points on Mustang turnovers in the first half and trailed just 37-36 at the break.

Bellarmine came out on fire in the second half. After missing their first shot, the Knights made their next six shots, including two from beyond the arc to claim their first lead of the game and run their advantage to 11 less than four minutes into the second period.

However, from that point, the Knights were just seven of 24 from the field (29 percent) as the Mustangs erased the deficit and reclaimed the lead at the 2:59 mark on a 3-pointer by Pat Smith. Down the stretch, Bellarmine sent Midwestern State to the line, where they converted eight of 10 free throws in the final minute, including all three front ends of the one-and-one.

Bellarmine's Rusty Troutman led all scorers with 23 and led the Knights with seven rebounds. George Suggs had his most productive game of the year with 16 points while Michael Parrish added 10 points and six assists.

The Mustangs had a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures, led by Brandon Golden, who came off the bench to score 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting including 4-of-5 from long range. Khapri Alston just missed a double-double for MSU with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Midwestern State outshot the Knights 49 to 41 percent and yanked down five more rebounds (35-30). While the Mustangs cooled a bit from their torrid start, the team from Wichita Falls, Texas finished the game hitting 50 percent from three point range, making 12 of their 24 attempts.

Bellarmine returns to action tomorrow for second round action in the Bill Joergens Memorial. They will face Ohio Valley at 6:15 p.m. (5:15 p.m. CST) at USI's Physical Activities Center.

BOX SCORE (HTM)