EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—Simply put, the Southern Indiana men's basketball team rebounded on Friday night. They rebounded figuratively, and they rebounded literally.
Figuratively speaking, the Screaming Eagles rebounded from two regular season double-digit losses to Bellarmine, and they literally rebounded the basketball Friday night to help the pull out a 76-73 victory over the Knights in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament being held on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
The fourth-seeded Screaming Eagles trailed nearly the entire game but inched ahead in the late stages as Bellarmine's hot hand from three-point range cooled off. Led by a career night by
Parker Chitty, who pumped in 27 points while making six of seven from beyond the arc, the Knights made 12 of their first 18 triples, but coming down the stretch, made just one of seven.
"We outrebounded them in game one, and we outrebounded them in game two," said Bellarmine Coach
Scott Davenport. "And tonight, they outrebound us 38-19. At halftime, Josh Price had more rebounds in 16 minutes than our entire team did in the half."
He added that the team knew rebounding would a big part of Friday's game. "Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we did every rebounding drill I've ever known as a coach, and they manhandle us on the glass."
Davenport said the segment of the game that really cost the Knights came when Bellarmine had a bad possession while leading 60-53 and then surrendered an 8-0 run as the Screaming Eagles claimed a 61-60 advantage with 8:12 remaining.
From that point on, neither team led by more than four and the game came down to the final possession.
With 1:03 on the clock, USI's Kobe Caldwell drained a triple to give his team a 74-70 advantage, but
CJ Fleming answered for the Knights with a deep ball on the other end. Then, both teams got two big defensive stops. Chitty came up with a steal with 17 seconds remaining, and USI's Emmanuel Little blocked a shot and secured the rebound on Bellarmine's ensuing possession, forcing the Knights to foul with 3.8 seconds remaining. Little drained both free throws, and Bellarmine's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked as USI secured the victory.
Aside from the rebounding, which led to a 19-5 edge in second chance points for USI, the statistics looked like Bellarmine basketball. The Knights dished out 18 assists on 24 baskets and made 12 of 13 free throws.
Chitty's 27 points led all scorers with USI's Joe Laravie pouring in 21 to pace the Southern Indiana offense. Price finished the game with 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for USI, which improved to 22-7.
Alex Cook added 15 points for the Knights, knocking down all eight of his free throws.
Pedro Bradshaw also had a solid offensive stat line with 14 points on five of nine shooting including three of four from beyond the arc.
Bellarmine, which came in as the No. 5 seed in the GLVC tourney, falls to 20-8 and know must sweat out the NCAA's decision on whether the Knights will receive a bid to the postseason tournament. The DII NCAA selection show is Sunday evening at 10:30 p.m. Bellarmine was ranked sixth in the most recent regional poll, and eight teams from the Midwest will get into the "big dance."
"I just hope and pray…that at 10:30 on Sunday night I get to coach these guys again," Davenport said, adding that the best scenario for Bellarmine getting a bid was for the favorites to win out, especially in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference where Grand Valley State is the highest remaining seed.
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