EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A season of history, a season with titles, a season where indelible memories were created and greatness was achieved, ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Bellarmine University men's basketball team on Thursday night in the Final Four of the Division II NCAA Tournament.

A spirited comeback in front of a raucous pro-Knights crowd gave way to undoubtedly the tensest final minutes that third-ranked Bellarmine and top-ranked Florida Southern had been involved in this season. In the end, a terrific shot decided the instant classic. Unfortunately for the Knights, it was Kevin Capers that made it.

The consensus All-American, who would have been on any credible shortlist for national Player of the Year, sank a highly contested 3-pointer with 8 seconds remaining to lift the Moccasins to a wrenching 79-76 victory over the Knights at the Ford Center.

The loss ended a sublime season and a dazzling run for Bellarmine through the NCAA Tournament. At 31-4, the Knights finished with the second-most victories in school history. They were regular-season champions of the East Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the top-seeded team in both the conference tournament and the Midwest Regional, the latter of which they won in dominant fashion.

"My feelings toward this basketball team, what they accomplished, the way they represented the university, their city and their families, I don't feel one bit differently about these young men than if we had won the game by three points," BU Coach Scott Davenport said. "When you ask a player to do the best they can do mentally and physically — and they do that — that team may not have a trophy but they are champions. They had the hearts of champions and work ethic of champions."

In the first half, Florida Southern (35-1) used a barrage of 3-pointers to build an 18-point advantage, but Bellarmine remain composed and surged back to within 40-36 at halftime. The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair, with the Knights overtaking the Moccasins and holding a 76-72 lead with 2:39 left on a layup by senior forward Jake Thelen.

Florida Southern's Stephen Battle responded with a bucket, and the Moccasins got the ball back when Bellarmine was whistled for a controversial offensive foul, one of the many disputed calls from both benches in a game which saw an interminable delay in the second half when the Knights had momentum to figure out if FSU's Bubby Johnson had four or five fouls.

Although Capers had been relatively quiet for most of the contest, he drained a tying jumper with 1:46 left that marked the seventh tie of the game. When the Moccasins came up with a steal with 38 seconds left, Capers again had the ball in his hands after a timeout.

Capers began driving right but, in the postgame news conference, said he noticed Thelen awaiting him near the basket. The senior guard opted to step back and attempt a heavily guarded 3-pointer from the right wing. Much to the dismay of the Knights, he was on the money.

"They just made a great play," Davenport said. "We defended arguably the best player in America, and he hit a big-time shot. The defense was great."

With less than 8 seconds left, Bellarmine senior guard Chris Whitehead, who led all scorers with 24 points and was the catalyst for the Knights' comeback, raced down the floor and attempted a tying 3-pointer that was a little off the mark.

It was a crushing end to a remarkable run for the Knights.

"You couldn't ask for a better group of 15 guys on a team. They're the best friends I have," Thelen said. "It hurts to lose but what hurts most is not being able to play with them again."

Thelen, a consensus All-American and the GLVC Player of the Year, capped his awards-laden season with another monster game that consisted of 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for his 18th double-double. In addition to his game-high 24 points, first-team All-GLVC performer Whitehead collected a game-best six assists with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Rusty Troutman added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while senior guard Corbin Maynard drilled a trio of 3-pointers for nine points with five rebounds.

Bellarmine shot with more precision than Florida Southern, making 49.2 percent of its shots from the floor to the 46 percent of the Moccasins. However, BU turned the ball over 20 times to only seven for FSU, which turned the Knights' miscues into 25 points. Bellarmine owned the glass with a 44-24 rebounding advantage, including 15 of the offensive variety.

Led by Dominique Williams, Florida Southern came out sizzling from the 3-point line. Williams sank five trifectas in a four-minute span to give the Moccasins a 21-9 lead. Tyler Kelly and Tyler Logan then hit from long range as the advantage swelled to 18.

"The first 12 minutes of the game we didn't defend the 3-point line well at all and we didn't rebound well at all," Thelen said. "We knew if we picked that up, we would cut the lead."

That's exactly what happened. Bellarmine turned the tables as sophomore forward Josh Derksen and Maynard both canned 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 10. After Troutman spotted Thelen for a basket and Maynard nailed another trey, the Knights had charged back to within three with 37 seconds left behind a 15-2 run.

The stage was set for an epic second half where the winner was decided on the final possession.

For Thelen, Whitehead, Maynard and senior forward Josh Sewell, it was their last time suiting up for the Knights. An All-Midwest Regional Tournament performer, Maynard bookended his career at Bellarmine with appearances in the Final Four.

"It's definitely been a blessing," Maynard said. "To be able to put this uniform on every day for four years, you couldn't ask for a better experience, a better group of guys, coaching staff, Knights Nation. It's the greatest four years of my life, hands down."

BOX SCORE (HTM)