EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—The No. 11 Bellarmine Knights earned their third straight Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship with an outstanding defensive effort to defeat Drury 65-48 at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
 
Bellarmine proved the old adage "defense wins championships" by limiting the Panthers to a season-low 48 points and a season-low 11 assists. The Knights forced 15 Drury turnovers and held the Panthers to 43.9 percent shooting.
 
Meanwhile, Bellarmine managed to hit 51.1 percent from the field while dishing out 18 assists on 23 made baskets.
 
"That defensive effort for 40 minutes as a team—not I stop you, but as a team—was extraordinary," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "And their defense generated their enthusiasm.  The team defense was incredible.  That team (Drury) is playing as well as anybody in the country."
 
Bellarmine trailed just once in the game when Andrew Ballock buried a 3-pointer to put the Panthers ahead 8-6 at the 16:07 mark of the first half. However, the Knights were in control for most of the game. 
 
After Bellarmine had taken a 12-10 advantage, both team went scoreless for nearly five minutes. The Knights finally found the bottom of the bucket as Tyler Jenkins canned a 3-pointer at the 9:12 mark of the first half. 
 
After a defensive stop, Chivarsky Corbett also splashed a triple to give the Knights an 18-10 advantage.  The eight-point cushion seem to provide Bellarmine with the confidence it needed, and Drury never seriously threatened as the Knights rolled into halftime with a 32-19 advantage.
 
As it turned out, the Panthers never got any closer.  Bellarmine extended the lead to 19 at the 5:40 mark, then endured a 6-0 run by Drury before recovering to extend the margin to as many as 21 before settling for the 17-point win.
 
Corbett led the Bellarmine offense with 15 points and pulled in a game-high eight rebounds, and his performance was rewarded with a spot on the GLVC All-Tournament Team. 
 
Jenkins finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Daniel Ramser, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, chipped in 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds.
 
Despite the strong defensive effort by Bellarmine, Drury's Conley Garrison led all scorers with 17 points after drilling four of his eight 3-pointers.
 
Bellarmine's feat of three straight GLVC tourney titles is the first "three-peat" since Kentucky Wesleyan won the 1998, 1999 and 2000 crowns. 
 
The Knights improve to 26-4 on the season while Drury loses for the first time since Jan. 24 and slips to 21-11.
 
Bellarmine now waits to hear its NCAA tournament fate tonight on the NCAA selection show at 10:30 p.m. It can be viewed online at NCAA.com.
 
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