JACKSONVILLE, Ala.—The Bellarmine Knights fell 65-60 on the road at Jacksonville State in a hard-fought ASUN Conference battle highlighted by tough defense that saw both teams shoot poorly, including a season-low 33.3 percent for the Knights.
 
The game was close throughout with the Knights owning the lead for much of the game, but the home-standing Gamecocks nailed a triple after two offensive rebounds to take an eight-point lead with just 2:46 remaining, and that was too steep a hill for the Knights to climb.
 
Although Bellarmine couldn't complete the comeback, a pair of CJ Fleming threes closed the gap to just 54-52 with 1:53 on the clock.  However, Jacksonville State turned around earlier free throw woes and made the charity tosses coming down the stretch to keep Bellarmine at bay.
 
Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said, "There's a reason both teams were undefeated in the league. These were two really, really good teams playing."
 
On Bellarmine's poor shooting performance, Davenport said, "The competition gets credit for that.  They're a veteran, very talented basketball team that creates incredible challenges because they have two of the biggest low post forces in the league, and they're the third-leading three-point shooting team in the country."
 
The Knights did a great job of defending the three, limiting the Gamecocks to just 29 percent from beyond the arc, but the inside presence of Brandon Huffman and Kayne Henry combined to convert 14 of 16 field goals for 36 points with Henry finishing with a career-high 24 points to lead all scorers.
 
For Bellarmine, Fleming led the way with 17 points while grabbing a career-high eight rebounds. Dylan Penn, the reigning ASUN Player of the Week, finished with 14 points.
 
Despite the loss, Davenport was upbeat about his squad.  "I love our basketball team," he said "Juston Betz, in that game with those athletes, is the leading rebounder in that game (with 10). Did we play flawless? No. But what's important is that everyone in that locker room knows we didn't."
 
The loss, Bellarmine's first in calendar year 2022, drops the Knights to 11-9 overall and 5-1 in conference play.  The host Gamecocks improve to 13-6, 6-0 ASUN to take over the lead in the ASUN West.
 
With tonight's contest a makeup of a game that was originally scheduled for Jan. 4, that means the Knights have a busy week as they'll travel to Florida for games at Stetson on Thursday and Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday.