NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 22-point halftime deficit stared the Bellarmine men's basketball team down coming out of the locker room for the second half Thursday night at Allen Arena. Showing no signs of dejection, the Knights would orchestrate a grueling comeback against host Lipscomb in the second stanza, but ultimately come up short of earning their second ASUN win.
 
Bellarmine (6-11, 1-4 ASUN) outscored Lipscomb (11-7, 4-1 ASUN) 44-32 in the second half, cutting the deficit to seven late before eventually falling by an 81-71 final.
 
Head coach Doug Davenport went into Nashville looking to try something a little new to start Thursday's game. He swapped in a whole new lineup of five players three-and-a-half minutes into the game with the Knights down 9-2—something that, despite the score, was decided before the game.
 
The hockey-style line change perhaps did not have the desired effect as Lipscomb continued their hot shooting. The Bisons missed their first shot of the night, but then hit eight of their next nine attempts to build a 21-8 lead.
 
It was a tough shooting night for Bellarmine, especially from beyond the arc. The Knights missed all 12 of their three-point attempts in the first half after entering the game second in the ASUN in three-point percentage behind the Bisons.
 
Meanwhile, Lipscomb's Ethan Duncan showed why the Bisons lead the league in sinking longballs. The redshirt junior guard transfer from Lubbock Christian went 8 for 11 from three in first half, passing his previous career high of seven treys. Lipscomb had runs of 10-0 and 11-0 in the first half, the latter including three threes by Duncan, en route to a 49-27 halftime lead.
 
Lipscomb shot 55.9 percent in the first half and hit 10 of 13 twos compared to 34.5 percent for Bellarmine.
 
Again trying new things, Davenport sent out seldom-used freshmen Grant Neal, Tommy Clark and Jacob Wassler looking to provide a spark to start the second half. Neal provided five early points on a pair of buckets and a 1-for-2 mark from the free throw line as Bellarmine won the first segment 10-7.
 
Bellarmine would continue to hang around, narrowing the deficit to 14 several times. Clark hit the Knights' first three of the night in 15 tries with 14:44 remaining to close the gap to 56-42. Moments later, Grant Whitaker would hit the Knights' second triple of the game to cut the lead to 60-46. Whitaker then created an opportunity with his defense, creating a steal and a layup to bring the score to 65-51 with 8:53 to go. Two more times the Knights would close it to 14 before a series of free throws would bring them to within eight at 69-61.
 
After more free throws from both sides, Brian Waddell connected on a trey with 1:42 left to bring it back to eight at 74-66. After two more Lipscomb free throws, a Donovan Hunter three cut the deficit to seven at 76-69 with 1:21 remaining, but that would be as close as the Knights would get.
 
A Grant Asman layup with 27 seconds left put the Bisons' lead back to 10 to seal it for Lipscomb, who went on to win 81-71.
 
Bellarmine held Lipscomb to one field goal, the late layup by Asman, in five attempts over the final six minutes. The Knights went 5 for 13 in that same period, including hitting three threes. Despite their drought, Lipscomb was able to keep enough distance as they sank 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch.
 
Jack Karasinski led Bellarmine with 16 points and Waddell finished with 13. Nine different Knights made at least one field goal, matching season high against a Division I opponent set in the season opener with Georgia. As a team, however, the Knights' 37.1-percent shooting effort fell well below their 51.9-percent season average. It was Bellarmine's first game since December 17 shooting under 50.0 percent and their first without a 20-point scorer since November 19 at Notre Dame.
 
For Lipscomb, Duncan led all scorers with 27, though he scored just three in the second half. Asman added 17 and Charlie Williams chipped in 10. Mateo Esmeraldo, one of the top assist men in the country, finished with eight helpers. The Bisons finished the game shooting 49.1 percent.
 
Bellarmine returns to action Saturday night at in-state rival Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff in Richmond is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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