SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—One bad half doomed the Bellarmine Knights in the NCAA Division II national semifinals as top-seeded Fairmont State sprinted to a 23-point lead in the first period then held off the Knights for a 79-68 victory.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Knights went 0-for-8 from three-point range and committed 12 turnovers while the Fighting Falcons drained eight of 17 triples and came up with eight steals. At the break, Fairmont led 46-26.
The Knights came out in the second period and kept their hopes alive by going a on an 8-0 run. Bellarmine eventually cut the lead to eight on a
Rusty Troutman three at the 9:08 mark. However, the Falcons kept hitting crucial shots and held off the Bellarmine comeback.
"Fairmont is a great basketball team," said Bellarmine Coach
Scott Davenport. "We had a horrible half. They make eight threes and we don't make a three. They get eight steals; we're down 20. All we talked about at halftime was be us. In the second half, we were us."
The Knights got another outstanding performance from
Adam Eberhard, who just missed a triple double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Senior
Rusty Troutman contributed 15 points to end his stellar career, which spanned 130 games. The 6-5 Mt. Washington native finished, with 1,715 points--the seventh most in school history.
Fellow seniors
George Knott and
Al Davis also closed their careers with solid performances. Knott scored six and claimed three rebounds and had two steals in 16 minutes of action while Davis scored 11—all in the second period.
D'Ondre Stockman of Fairmont State came off the bench and poured in a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers. The 6-1 junior nailed eight of 10 field goals, including jarring five of six 3-pointers.
After blistering the nets in the first half, the Fighting Falcons cooled to finish just 45.9 percent from the field, but made 13 of their 28 trifectas for 46.4 percent.
The Knights, on the other hand, shot just 45 percent in the opening 20 minutes but connected on 15 of 26 shots in the second half to finish shooting 52.1 percent overall. Bellarmine's touch never fully returned from the 3-point line, finishing just four of 17 (23.5%) for the game.
Fairmont State improves to 34-2 and will face Northwest Missouri in the championship game on Saturday.
Bellarmine ends its season 32-4, which is the second most wins in a season in school history.
Although the loss was heartbreaking for the Bellarmine players and staff, they expressed gratitude to the many Bellarmine fans who made the 800 mile trek to support the Knights.
The atmosphere in the Sanford Pentagon resembled a Bellarmine home game with a large Knights cheering section along with the pep band, cheerleaders and dance team. Even after the loss, the extraordinary fan base showed their support for the Knights by lining the hallway outside their locker room and giving big cheers to the team upon their exit.
In the postgame press conference, an emotional Davenport talked about the special bond of this year's team. "They care about each other and that's why I am the most thankful coach to be in that locker room with those 14 young men and those four student managers."
Eberhard and Troutman, who accompanied Davenport at the press conference, echoed their coach's sentiments.
"I know I'm hurting and can't image what it's like for the seniors," Eberhard said. "Like coach said my heart's ripped out."
Troutman took the time to say how much he appreciated the support over his four years. "Knights Nation…I can't thank those guys enough," he said. "They traveled everywhere with us. We have fans who we don't even know that make you feel so important. That's what's so good about Bellarmine. Everyone cares about one another no matter who you are. It's just a love that everybody shares, a love that will go on--Bellarmine for life, that's what everyone says."
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