INDIANAPOLIS—If there is such a thing as a "typical Bellarmine win," that's exactly what the 10th-ranked Knights recorded in knocking off the homestanding Saint Joseph's Pumas 84-62 on Saturday afternoon in Scharf Fieldhouse in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest.
 
Longtime fans of Bellarmine are well-acquainted with the Knights' "M.O.:" pass crisply, shoot well, and defend. In fact, Bellarmine came in as the league leader in assists per game, field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense.
 
Today, Bellarmine again excelled in all three areas, utilizing 26 assists to create a shooting percentage of 61.1 percent while holding the Pumas to just 37.9 percent shooting.
 
The Knights never trailed in today's game en route to chalking up win number 18 against just three losses. Bellarmine also took over sole possession of first place in the GLVC East with a 10-1 league mark as No. 12 Southern Indiana fell on the road at Indianapolis by the count of 81-66 and slipped to 9-2 in conference play.
 
Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said the Knights hit nearly every goal they had established for the game. "Our goal was to hold them from the field—which they shoot 47 percent—our goal was to hold them to under 40; they shot 39," he said. "Our goal was to hold them to under 30 (percent) from the 3—they make 10 threes a game, and they shoot 26 and make seven (26.9%)." Davenport added they also reached goals in rebounding, assists, and free throw shooting.
 
Despite the impressive final statistics, Bellarmine couldn't have started the game much worse—opening with a turnover on their initial possession followed by three consecutive misses. However, the Knights defense kept the Pumas off the scoreboard as BU's Al Davis scored the game's first points more than two minutes into the contest.
 
Saint Joseph's answered with a put back basket on its ensuing possession, but after Rusty Troutman drained a pair of free throws, the Pumas would trail the remainder of the game.
 
Bellarmine consistently scored from close range, and their 34-6 advantage in points in the paint in the first half helped the Knights build a 44-30 halftime lead.
 
In the second period, the Knights hit a cold spell beginning at the 12:34 mark—not scoring for more than four minutes.  The Pumas took advantage and trimmed what had been a 19-point lead down to single digits.
 
George Knott got the Knights back on track by canning a trey with 8:14 remaining, and Saint Joseph's never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
 
"(St. Joseph's is) coming off a three overtime game against Southern Indiana that was an amazingly physical game, and they never quit for 40 minutes, so I want to give them a lot of credit," Davenport said.
 
The Knights had a balanced scoring attack featuring career-highs by Jarek Coles and, for the second game in a row, George Knott. Coles drilled all three of his trifectas on his way to 16 points while Knott added 11.
 
Also reaching double digits for the Knights were Troutman with 15, Davis with 14, and Adam Eberhard chipped in 11 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
 
Kindred Williams of Saint Joseph's led all scorers with 18 points. The 6-6 junior hit eight of nine shots from the field and hauled in eight rebounds for the Pumas, who fell to 9-12 (3-8 GLVC).
 
The Knights return home for games on Feb. 2 and Feb. 4. On Thursday, BU faces 2013 national champion Drury, and on Saturday the Knights tangle with Missouri S&T, who upset GLVC West Leader Truman State earlier today.
 
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