CINCINNATI—The No. 3 Bellarmine Knights pushed the University of Cincinnati to the limit, but the host Bearcats outscored the Knights 7-2 in the final two minutes to pull out a 64-55 victory in an exhibition contest tonight at Fifth Third Arena.
 
In the unofficial season debut for both, the Knights and Bearcats fought through a defensive battle. Cincinnati forced 19 Bellarmine turnovers and swatted eight shots as the Bearcats held the traditionally well-shooting Knights to just 36 percent.
 
Bellarmine, however, countered with crisp passing and good perimeter shooting, draining 12 of 28 three-pointers as the Knights dished out 16 assists on 18 made baskets. Bellarmine also had a strong night on the glass, outrebounding the Bearcats 32-25.
 
Preseason All-American Rusty Troutman led all scorers tonight with 20 and hauled in six rebounds. Sophomore Adam Eberhard chipped in 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including nailing 3-of-4 triples.
 
Cincinnati was led by Kevin Johnson with 14 points while Quadri Moore contributed 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
"I'm not a good loser, but I'm pleased with our ability to rebound the basketball and our ability to adjust," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, pointing out the Knights committed 13 first half turnovers but trimmed that number to just six in the second.
 
The head coach entering his 12th season at Bellarmine was also pleased with the Knights' defensive effort. "That is the best team defense we have played in an exhibition since I've been at Bellarmine," he said.  "We contained the drive and rebounded the ball."
 
Davenport also like the team approach that the Knights displayed tonight. "The biggest subjective thing I wanted to see was could we support each other no matter what happened in the game on the road against a great team that's going to go deep in the tournament in March, and we did."

Cincinnati Coach Mick Cronin was not happy with his team's performance, but credited Bellarmine for providing a challenge to his squad. "Offensively, I am really disappointed with our turnovers, but we got a lot out of tonight's game," he said. "That's why I always play Coach Davenport's teams because they play so hard."

Davenport utilized a four-guard lineup to begin the game with freshman Caleb Taylor starting at center surrounded by seniors Troutman and Al Davis with freshman Alex Cook and junior Brent Bach completing the starting lineup.  Traditionally, Coach Davenport uses exhibition games to try different lineups, and Bellarmine fans can expect different looks in the upcoming games at Indiana and Louisville on Saturday and Monday.
 
BOX SCORE (PDF)