LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Despite posting a season-low 56 points, the Bellarmine defense was up to the challenge as the No. 1 Knights recorded a 56-50 victory over Lewis in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Knights Hall.
 
Bellarmine, which entered the contest as the nation's top shooting team managed just 38.6 percent against the Flyers as they misfired on multiple shots inside the paint. The Knights countered by holding Lewis to just 33.9 percent shooting as the Flyers launched 35 triples but connected just nine times. Conversely, the Knights put up just seven shots from the outside making two and were just 15-37 inside the arc.
 
"It was tough," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport.  "It was in conference, and it's January, but I'm proud of them because Lewis is a great team.  They were the No. 1 seed in the region and won the conference last year. Did we play perfect? No, far from it, and I can break down all the numbers, but the most glaring number is that they had 15 more attempts than we did in the second half. But give our defense credit."
 
One of the most eye-catching defensive statistics for the Knights is that they surrendered just 15 points in the first half. Lewis was forced to play from the perimeter in the opening 20 minutes  with 17 of their 22 first half shots coming from beyond the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, the Knights kept forcing the ball inside, but missed multiple shots from point blank range. Even with the poor shooting, Bellarmine enjoyed a 29-15 advantage at the break.
 
Coming back in the second period, the Flyers went right to work, slicing the 14-point deficit to just four with 14:20 remaining.  The Knights rallied to re-establish a 15-point cushion at the 8-minute mark as Dylan Penn threw down a two-handed dunk to cap a 13-2 run by the Knights.
 
In the end, it was that run that supplied Bellarmine with just enough separation to hold off the Flyers as Lewis simply would not go away.  A triple by Artese Stapleton off an offensive rebound, pulled the visitors to within three with just 10 seconds remaining.
 
The Knights threw a deep inbounds pass to Penn, who was fouled immediately.  He was successful on both free throw attempts to give Bellarmine a 55-50 advantage. Lewis misfired on a trey and Alex Cook grabbed the rebound and was fouled with just 1.9 second remaining.  He made one of two to make the final margin. 56-50.
 
Penn finished the game with 20 points to pace the Knights, but the game's leading scorer was Dre Bell, who poured in 21 for Lewis, but he was just eight of 20 from the field, including a five of 16 night from 3-point land.
 
Ben Weyer just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds for the Knights while Cook finished with 16 points and eight boards.
 
Bellarmine improves to 10-0 on the season with a 3-0 mark in GLVC play.  The Flyers fall to 6-5 overall and slip to 1-2 in league play.
 
The Knights return to action on Thursday with a road game at McKendree. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 PM (EST).
 
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