CONWAY, Ark.—The Bellarmine Knights continued their stellar play in road league games on Wednesday night by turning back host Central Arkansas 79-69 on Scottie Pippen Court in the Farris Center in an ASUN Conference game.
The win was huge for Bellarmine. By improving to 10-3 in league play, the Knights are guaranteed to be no less than a No. 2 seed in the upcoming ASUN Conference Tournament, which means they'll receive a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal game on March 3 in Freedom Hall.
Wednesday's win also improved Bellarmine's two-year road record in the ASUN to an impressive 12-1. Over the past two years, only Gonzaga has been better in conference road games, with the Zags going undefeated in the West Coast Conference over that period.
Tonight's game looked to be in jeopardy in the early going as the Knights hit just one of their first eight shots. The Bears took advantage by jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead.
However, Bellarmine battled back to draw even at nine apiece. After UCA reclaimed the lead, a
CJ Fleming layup at the 8:08 mark gave the Knights a 14-13 advantage, and Bellarmine didn't trail the rest of the way.
Despite never relinquishing the lead, the Knights couldn't pull away and held a 30-25 halftime cushion. Coming out of the intermission, Bellarmine saw Central Arkansas score the first four points of the second half to trim the Bears' deficit to just one. The Knights stiffened, however, and got the separation they wanted by reeling off a 14-3 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 44-32 advantage.
The host Bears made several runs, but the Knights answered every time, and BU closed the game by drilling 11 of 12 free throws in the final 1:19.
Dylan Penn was a huge factor in the second period, scoring 19 of his 25 points after halftime. He also corralled three huge offensive rebounds in the second period that resulted in points every time, helping the Knights to an 11-5 advantage in second chance points in the final 20 minutes.
Bellarmine Coach
Scott Davenport said getting the victory and clinching at least a No. 2 seed and hosting a conference tournament created a legacy for this team. "That's what this opportunity was all about," he said. "And then they rallied, and they rallied, and they rallied for each other."
"That is a heck of basketball team we just beat," Davenport said of the Bears. "They played very controlled; they play inside-outside…but we controlled them in transition, which was a big key, and we ended up outrebounding them, which was a huge key, and—honestly—I thought our offense was really good."
After their early shooting woes, the Knights shot 53 percent in the second period to finish at 46 percent for the game, including going 8-for-20 from the 3-point line.
Bellarmine, which improved to 16-11 overall, saw four players reach double figures in scoring. In addition to Penn's 25-point night, Fleming continued his solid play by adding 20 with
Juston Betz tossing in 13 and
Ethan Claycomb contributing 11. Penn also paced the Knights with six assists and tied Betz for team-high rebounding honors with seven.
Camren Hunter, who is the reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Week, was Central Arkansas' top scorer, tying Penn for game-high honors with 25. Jared Chatham recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Bears.
Bellarmine now returns home for a Sunday showdown with Jacksonville State at 7 p.m. in Freedom Hall. The Gamecocks, who handed the Knights their lone road conference loss earlier this year, will come to Louisville tied with the Knights for the ASUN West Division lead at 10-3 after posting a comeback victory at Lipscomb on Wednesday.
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