#18th Panthers too much for shorthanded Knights
Knights fall to 9-5, look for turnaround in conference
Raymond Hupfer
Issue date: 1/13/10 Section: Sports
By Raymond Hupfer
Bellarmine's men's basketball team put together a strong team effort, but were unable to down the 18th-ranked Drury Panthers Saturday, falling 78-74 in a back-and-forth contest that featured seven ties and seven lead changes.
The Knights took a 71-70 lead with under a minute left to play when Justin Benedetti knocked down a three. Drury then took the ball after a timeout and ran the shot clock all the way down before missing a shot; however, the Panthers were able to get a tip-in from Alex Hall to take a 72-71 lead that they would never relinquish.
Despite playing shorthanded, Scott Davenport's Knights never backed down from the challenge of facing a nationally-ranked team on the road.
"I've never been more proud of a group kids in my life. The kids played their hearts out," Davenport said.
Bellarmine led by one at the half, and outscored Drury from the floor 69-54. They shot 55 percent from the floor while limiting Drury to 42 percent; however, Drury held a huge advantage from the charity stripe, knocking down 24-28 free throws while limiting the Knights to five free throw attempts for the game, and that proved to be the difference in the game.
Offensively the Knights had five players hit double-figures. Luke Sprague scored 18 points to lead the way, while Jeremy Kendle added 14 points and Chris Dowe chipped in with 13. Braydon Hobbs had 11 points and a game-high eight assists, and Benedetti scored 10 points.
But Bellarmine had no answer for Drury's freshman standout Hall who had 29 points and seven rebounds, both of which were game highs.
While the loss is disappointing, Davenport knows getting his team to full strength is priority number one.
"I told the guys in the locker room after the game that I'm as happy as can be because I have my team back. We'll get better from here," he said.
Bellarmine falls to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Drury's impressive season continues as the Panthers improve to 11-3 (4-1 GLVC).
The Knights will look to rebound from the tough loss and improve upon their 5-1 home record with this week's Thursday-Saturday homestand. Tomorrow night, they take on the University of Indianapolis at 8 PM before squaring off against St. Joseph's Saturday afternoon.
Bellarmine's men's basketball team put together a strong team effort, but were unable to down the 18th-ranked Drury Panthers Saturday, falling 78-74 in a back-and-forth contest that featured seven ties and seven lead changes.
The Knights took a 71-70 lead with under a minute left to play when Justin Benedetti knocked down a three. Drury then took the ball after a timeout and ran the shot clock all the way down before missing a shot; however, the Panthers were able to get a tip-in from Alex Hall to take a 72-71 lead that they would never relinquish.
Despite playing shorthanded, Scott Davenport's Knights never backed down from the challenge of facing a nationally-ranked team on the road.
"I've never been more proud of a group kids in my life. The kids played their hearts out," Davenport said.
Bellarmine led by one at the half, and outscored Drury from the floor 69-54. They shot 55 percent from the floor while limiting Drury to 42 percent; however, Drury held a huge advantage from the charity stripe, knocking down 24-28 free throws while limiting the Knights to five free throw attempts for the game, and that proved to be the difference in the game.
Offensively the Knights had five players hit double-figures. Luke Sprague scored 18 points to lead the way, while Jeremy Kendle added 14 points and Chris Dowe chipped in with 13. Braydon Hobbs had 11 points and a game-high eight assists, and Benedetti scored 10 points.
But Bellarmine had no answer for Drury's freshman standout Hall who had 29 points and seven rebounds, both of which were game highs.
While the loss is disappointing, Davenport knows getting his team to full strength is priority number one.
"I told the guys in the locker room after the game that I'm as happy as can be because I have my team back. We'll get better from here," he said.
Bellarmine falls to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Drury's impressive season continues as the Panthers improve to 11-3 (4-1 GLVC).
The Knights will look to rebound from the tough loss and improve upon their 5-1 home record with this week's Thursday-Saturday homestand. Tomorrow night, they take on the University of Indianapolis at 8 PM before squaring off against St. Joseph's Saturday afternoon.
Be the first to comment on this story