LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University men's basketball team had a night to remember on Thursday after the No. 3/4 Knights claimed a hard-fought 67-61 victory over the 10th-ranked Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles.
 
In fact, it's probably difficult for Knights fans to know which accomplishment to celebrate the most. The night began with Bellarmine honoring its seniors playing in their final regular season game in Knights Hall and ended with the Knights posting the 1,000th victory in program history. The win also pushed the Knights home court winning streak to 41 games, and it gave Bellarmine the outright regular season Great Lakes Valley Conference crown. And, the successes were televised to a national audience through the American Sports Network, TUFF TV, and NCAA.com.
 
Ironically, the Knights (25-3, 17-1 GLVC) won in pretty much the exact opposite fashion from their last win. After canning a school record 18 triples against Illinois Springfield on Saturday, Bellarmine failed to make a 3-pointer tonight for the first time since Coach Scott Davenport took over the program in 2005.
 
"We didn't make a jump shot," said Davenport. "I asked the players in the locker room (after the game) to raise their hand if they hit a jump shot. Not one player raised his hand."
 
The stat sheet reflects that fact. All 48 points the Knights scored from the floor were in the paint as the Knights hit 24 of 44 shots for 54.5 percent while adding 19 free throws.  Bellarmine also dished out just nine assists on the night as most of their 24 buckets came on drives to the hoop.
 
While the offense wasn't exactly a typical Bellarmine performance, the one thing that was consistent for the Knights was defense. Bellarmine limited the Screaming Eagles to just 39.3 percent shooting as USI posted its lowest point production of the season.
 
Despite the difference in shooting percentages, the Screaming Eagles kept the game close by cashing in from the 3-point line, making 12 of 29 attempts, meaning USI outscored the Knights 36-0 from beyond the arc.
 
"Our players played with championship-level poise," Davenport said. "This was a tough game. This is two of the best teams in the country playing. They're an incredible team; we're an incredible team. This was an incredible win by a group of guys. It took everybody every possession."
 
Bellarmine led for nearly three-fourths of the game, but the Knights biggest lead was just seven while the largest margin for Southern Indiana was just five.
 
Adam Eberhard paced the Knights with 17 points while Rusty Troutman and Alex Cook chipped in 14 apiece. Cook was a huge factor for the Knights, hauling in a career high 10 rebounds and throwing down two dunks that helped electrify the capacity crowd of 2,196.
 
Alex Stein and Bobo Drummond had the hot hands for USI, which fell to 25-3, 15-3 GLVC. Stein led all scorers with 20 while making eight of 14 shots including three of six triples. Drummond added 18 points and hit five of nine from deep.
 
Prior to the game, the Knights celebrated its three seniors (Al Davis, George Knott and Rusty Troutman) along with senior manager Austin "Scooter" Galloway to the loud ovation of the capacity crowd.
 
"This crowd tonight for these players…thank you," Davenport said. "They appreciate it so much I can't put into words."
 
While the Knights know they have secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament, Bellarmine doesn't know its opponent. The five through 12 seeds will play on Sunday at campus sites, and the Knights will play the lowest advancing team in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2.  The final three rounds of the GLVC Tournament will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville.  The semifinals will be played March 4 and the championship will be played Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

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