LOUISVILLE, Ky.—On a night when 22^nd-ranked Bellarmine University didn't have their best stuff, the Knights "toughed out" a 72-62 win over a solid Illinois Springfield team in both teams' Great Lakes Valley Conference debuts tonight in Knights Hall.

Bellarmine hit just 31 percent of its second half shots, and connected on just 43.1 percent for the game. However, the Knights controlled the backboards with a +11 rebounding margin to limit the UIS offensive opportunities and outscored the Prairie Stars 20-8 in second chance points to take the victory.

"I am so proud of our basketball team," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, "because we shot poorly—with good shots—but won this game by dominating the backboard. The last 15 possessions they score one time and got one offensive rebound; that's why we won this basketball game.  Kudos start with Yasin Kolo and George Suggs with nine rebounds apiece."

The nine rebounds for Suggs represent a career high while Rusty Troutman paced the Knights with a game-high 21 points. Jamall Millison netted a team-high 20 points for the Prairie Stars, who fell to 3-4 on the season.

Illinois Springfield bolted out to a 24-17 lead about midway through the first half, but the Knights answered with a 10-0 run to regain the lead that they would never surrender. After BU's deficit grew to seven, they closed the half by making eight of 11 from the field including three of five from beyond the arc to claim a 43-35 halftime advantage.

In the second period, Bellarmine couldn't seem to buy a basket, missing numerous open shots. "Tonight, we passed; we just missed the shots," Davenport said. "I can't wait to break down the film to see how many assists we would have had if we didn't miss the open shots."

The Prairie Stars took advantage of Bellarmine's poor shooting and quickly trimmed the lead to just three.  But, they couldn't wrestle the lead away from the Knights, who stayed in front by playing solid defense and not giving up second chances.

The Knights eventually worked their lead up to double digits and held off the Prairie Stars coming down the stretch with a couple of key baskets including a triple from Al Davis at the two-minute mark and an unlikely bucket from Suggs with 1:23 remaining in the game. The senior forward literally threw the ball toward the goal to beat the shot clock and it hit nothing but net. That would be the final hoop for the Knights, who sealed the game by hitting four six free throws in the final 1:02.

Despite their cold shooting in the second half, the Knights still outshot the Prairie Stars as UIS finished just 25-of-59 from the field for 42.4 percent.

The Knights (5-2, 1-0 GLVC) return to action on Saturday in front of national audience as Bellarmine welcomes ESPN 3 to Knights Hall for their 3:15 game against McKendree.  The Bearcats suffered their first loss of the season tonight, falling 89-61 at the University of Southern Indiana.

BOX SCORE (HTM)