LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The chant from the Bellarmine University student section rose to a fevered pitch.

"Feed the beast. Feed the beast," the BU faithful bellowed.

When Jake Thelen, the object of their affection, raised his arm in gracious salute, the roar reached a deafening level. On this night, as the senior forward has all season, Thelen transformed into beast mode. And in this game, as they have all season, the Knights had an unwavering drive to succeed that would not be denied.

Bellarmine has punched its ticket to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana, after the third-ranked Knights captured the Midwest Regional championship of the Division II NCAA Tournament on Tuesday with an 81-72 victory over No. 15 Indianapolis in front of a raucous fan base at Knights Hall.

"This is one of the best feelings I've ever had, this is one of the best days of my life," exclaimed Thelen, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "This is something you dream about as a kid. It's unbelievable."

Believe it.

Bellarmine (30-3) earned its third Elite Eight appearance in the last five years by beating Indianapolis (25-6) for the third straight time. In doing so, the Knights gained a measure of revenge, as it was the Greyhounds who ended their season last year. In fact, BU turned the Midwest Regional into its own personal playground for payback, triggering the three-game title run with a blowout win over Drury, which had upset the Knights in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament finals.

"They gave absolutely every ounce of energy and passion they had," praised BU Coach Scott Davenport, who pumped his fist after cutting down the last strand of net amid the exuberant postgame celebration.

Bellarmine will meet No. 4 Minnesota State Morehead (35-3) on March 25 at the Ford Center.

Thelen collected Most Outstanding Player honors after piling up game highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds. Senior guard Chris Whitehead netted All-Tournament accolades and scored 19 points with six assists. Sophomore guard Rusty Troutman chipped in 10 points, five assists and five rebounds, junior forward George Suggs added nine points and five blocks, and sophomore forward Josh Derksen contributed nine points.

"We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game because when you play a team four times you know each other in and out," Whitehead said. "The main thing was to keep playing Bellarmine basketball and stick together."

Playing "Bellarmine basketball" is precisely what the Knights did. The balance they displayed against Indianapolis has been a staple. Another typical statistic was the Knights' 51.8 percent shooting from the floor. The 16 assists on 29 field goals were customary. The 44-28 advantage in points in the paint was also a matter of maintaining the status quo.

"At this point in the season, that's how we should be playing, that's how we expect to play," Suggs said.

As efficient as Bellarmine was — the Knights only had seven turnovers, tying their second-best mark of the season — Indianapolis never let BU rest easy. The Greyhounds nailed 10 3-pointers, seemingly coming up with a critical trifecta every time BU threatened to run away with the game. Indy had no shortage of standouts, either. Jordan Loyd sank five 3-pointers while scoring 23 points, Joe Lawson racked up 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Brennan McElroy also notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. That trio accounted for all but 19 of UIndy's points.

One of most revealing statistics was that Bellarmine blocked a season-high nine shots, led by the GLVC's top shot swatter in Suggs. While Indianapolis knocked down 10 3-pointers, the Greyhounds only managed 15 of the two-point variety. As a result of BU's ruthlessness inside the arc, UIndy was held to 37.9 percent shooting.

"If they were going to hit a ton 3s and that's how they would beat us, so be it," Suggs said. "We wanted to make them make the tougher shots. We didn't let them get anything easy, and that was the plan from the beginning."

With 8:04 left in the second half, Bellarmine was clinging to a 62-60 lead. That's when the Knights dug in defensively and shut out the Greyhounds over the next four minutes. BU started distancing itself from UIndy on a driving layup by Derksen, a basket by Thelen and a pair of free throws by Suggs. The dagger came next, as Thelen drove the baseline and fired to Suggs in the left corner. After missing his first three attempts from beyond the arc, Suggs drilled the shot to boost BU's lead to 71-60 with 4:06 left.

"I hadn't hit one yet, but I knew if I was going to get an open look, I would take it," Suggs said. "Rusty set a great screen, Jake threw a great pass and I was ready for it."

Indianapolis made one last push to get within six with 1:41 left. Enter the "beast." With the ball in his hands on the left side, Thelen drove toward the paint and, shooting across his body, sank a difficult runner. When senior guard Corbin Maynard flipped to Thelen for a basket in transition, the celebration had already kicked in.

Maynard perhaps epitomizes the blue-collar nature of the team. He came to Bellarmine as a walk-on and earned a scholarship. He's now bookended his career with Elite Eight appearances. While Maynard played sparingly during that run, he's been a pivotal member of this year's squad and has played the best basketball of his career during this postseason. The result was an All-Tournament nod for the fan favorite, who drew one of the loudest cheerest of the night when he rose high and authoritatively blocked a 3-point attempt by UIndy's Kendall Vieke.

"It's do-or-die now and I'm a competitor," Maynard said. "I hate losing, whether it's in practice or playing Cornhole with my 1-year-old nephew. I don't ever want to look back a few years from now and have regrets. I'm going to leave it all out there on the court."

That court would be located in the Ford Center, home of the Elite Eight.

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