SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –The No. 13 Bellarmine Knights shook off a sluggish first half and overwhelmed  homestanding Illinois Springfield with 62 second half points to turn a 28-28 game at halftime into a 90-59 blowout in the regular season finale for both teams.
 
The Knights connected on 72.4 percent of their second half shots and minimized turnovers in the final 20 minutes to win going away as they held the Prairie Stars to just 36.5 percent shooting for the game including just eight of 24 from 3-point range.  
 
"There was a lot said at halftime," Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said. "But I think most of it was that they (the players) were disappointed in themselves. Honestly, I don't think our respect level for Springfield is what should have been at the start of the game, and that's what we told them."
 
The message was received loud and clear as Bellarmine outscored the Prairie Stars by 17 points over the first 4:39 of the second half. After UIS responded with a 7-0 run to trim the margin to 10, the Knights again responded with a run, taking a 50-40 lead and doubling the margin to 20 when Adam Eberhard canned a triple at the 8:46 mark.
 
The Knights maintained the intensity through the final buzzer as the final score also was the game's widest margin.  
 
"These kids played together the second half," Davenport said. "I don't single out players. I was proud of the group."   
 
For the second straight game, 15 players saw court time for Bellarmine and the offense featured a balanced scoring attack.  Daniel Ramser dropped in a career high 17 points to lead all scorers as 12 Knights hit the scoring column. Chivarsky Corbett just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds while Adam Eberhard contributed 11 points and six assists.  Senior Willie Schurfranz also made the most of his playing time, going 3-for-3 from the field and finishing with a season-high six points and two steals in just five minutes.  
 
Gilwan Nelson and Peyton Allen each scored 10 points to pace the Prairie Stars.
 
Bellarmine finished the game shooting 62.3 percent overall and made exactly half of its 16 attempts from beyond the arc while draining all 16 attempts from the charity stripe. The Knights also were impressive on the backboards with a 36-18 rebounding advantage.

The Knights conclude the regular season at 23-4 with a 14-4 conference record. Illinois Springfield finished 14-14 and 7-11 in league play.
 
Bellarmine will enter the GLVC Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed with Lewis finishing the year on an 11-game win streak to grab the top seed.
 
Men's quarterfinal action will begin Thursday on the campus of Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Final pairings will be announced later today.  For updates, check the GLVC Championship website: http://glvcsports.com/sports/2018/11/29/CHAMPS_1129181454.aspx?path=mbball
 
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