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Bellarmine University Athletics

CJ Fleming
John Sommers II
75
Winner Kennesaw St. KennSt 10-13,5-5 ASUN
70
Bellarmine BU 13-11,7-3 ASUN
Winner
Kennesaw St. KennSt
10-13,5-5 ASUN
75
Final
70
Bellarmine BU
13-11,7-3 ASUN
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kennesaw St. KennSt 38 37 75
Bellarmine BU 39 31 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | by Adam Pruiett, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

Owls sink 15 3-pointers, hold off comeback bid by Knights

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Prior to the matchup, Scott Davenport said Kennesaw State was unquestionably the most improved team in the ASUN, and the Owls did nothing to disprove that assertion Saturday night in Freedom Hall.

Kennesaw State buried 15 3-pointers and held off a late rally by the Bellarmine University men's basketball team in defeating the Knights 75-70.

The 15 makes from beyond the arc for Kennesaw State (10-13, 5-5 ASUN) came in 30 attempts. The Owls were much better from long range than two-point distance, where they were only 12-of-29. KSU, which entered the contest averaging less than eight made 3s per game, sank seven shots from deep in the first half and eight in the second stanza, with the last a huge shot by Chris Youngblood with 29 seconds left after Bellarmine (13-11, 7-3) had trimmed the deficit to one.

"When you get outscored by 27 at the three-point line, that's hard to overcome," Davenport said. "… The film won't lie. How many were catch-and-shoot versus off the dribble?"

Missed free throws played a crucial role in the loss, and Bellarmine missed a pair down 74-70 with 22 seconds left. The Knights were just 14-for-21 from the charity stripe even with senior forward Ethan Claycomb hitting all seven of his attempts.

Overall, Bellarmine shot 49 percent from the field to the 45.8 percent of Kennesaw State, but the Owls hit one more 3-pointer than the Knights even attempted, as BU went 6-for-14 from deep. Junior forward Sam DeVault sank three of them, including two when the Knights were trailing by 11 with just under eight minutes left.

Later, Claycomb had five straight points and senior guard Dylan Penn converted an old-fashioned three-point play as Bellarmine rallied to within 71-70 with 1 minute left. Youngblood followed with his fifth 3-pointer while leading four scorers in double figures for Kennesaw State with 17 points.

Bellarmine also had four players score in double figures. Senior guard CJ Fleming led the Knights with 22 points, Penn tallied 16, Claycomb added 14 and DeVault chipped in 10.

Bellarmine trailed for most of the first half before freshman forward Curt Hopf sank a 3-pointer and Claycomb knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Knights a 39-38 lead at the break. KSU took the lead for good when Youngblood opened the second half with a trifecta; the Owls were up 16 with 11:25 left before the Knights made their comeback bid.

Bellarmine will play at 7 p.m. (ET) Wednesday at North Florida.

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