Well, that wait sure didn’t take very long.
In its second game at the highest NCAA level, the Bellarmine University men’s basketball team notched its first-ever Division I victory, as four Knights scored in double figures Sunday night in an 84-63 triumph over Howard at Burr Gymnasium.
The win marked the first in DI for any Bellarmine team formerly associated with Division II.
“This is a night they’re never going to forget the rest of their life,” Knights Coach Scott Davenport said, “and that doesn’t happen often.”
The game against Howard (0-4) represented the second and final contest of the Mako Medical Duke Classic for Bellarmine (1-1), which opened its season Friday against No. 6 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The formula for success must have looked familiar to Bellarmine fans who watched the Knights dazzle in Division II for the last decade-plus.
Bellarmine shot 52.7 percent and dished out 20 assists on 29 field goals against Howard. The Knights were an even 50 percent from the field in the first half and bumped up to 56.5 percent in the second half, when their 10-point halftime lead was never truly threatened. Bellarmine also flourished from behind the three-point line, sinking 10 of its 21 shots from deep, including a lights-out 7-for-10 in the second half that diminished any hopes of a Howard comeback. Equally impressive – if not more – is that Bellarmine dominated the boards in owning a 42-23 rebounding advantage.
“We have stressed rebounding every single day,” said Davenport, whose squad ripped down 13 offensive rebounds, “and we’ll stress it moving on.”
Bellarmine had no shortage of standouts in its historic win. Junior guard Dylan Penn became the program’s first player to crack 20 points in Division I, as he tallied 22 on 10-of-15 shooting with five assists. Sophomore guard Alec Pfriem delivered the team’s first-ever DI double-double – not to mention his first career double-double – after amassing 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Junior guard Pedro Bradshaw nearly registered a second double-double for Bellarmine as he finished with 15 points and nine rebounds along with five assists. Senior forward Ethan Claycomb was Bellarmine’s fourth double-figure scorer with 12, and sophomore forward Sam DeVault didn’t miss a shot (3-3 FGs, 2-2 FTs) in scoring eight points.
At the 16:21 mark in the first half, Bellarmine grabbed its first-ever lead in a DI game at 7-6 on a Pfriem basket. The Knights’ first double-digit advantage, at 21-10, came less than nine minutes into the contest on Penn’s second 3-pointer. Bellarmine would lead by 15 on several occasions before halftime, the last on Penn’s 17th point before halftime.
Howard got within 45-35 of Bellarmine at the intermission, but Bradshaw drilled a 3-pointer to open the second half and found sophomore forward Nick Thelen for a basket to push the lead right back to 15. The Bison sliced their deficit to eight about five minutes into the half, but the Knights promptly responded with a 7-0 run capped by Claycomb’s 3-pointer. Junior guard Juston Betz and Bradshaw buried consecutive 3s to elevate the lead to 18.
The closest Howard got thereafter was 12 with 5:28 left, but the Knights rattled off a 9-0 run capped by, you guessed it, another 3-pointer by Claycomb in cruising to the final buzzer in their landmark win.
“This was about team,” Davenport said. “This was about an incredible effort Friday night (against Duke) and a very spirited practice Saturday. We had a great walk-through and transferred that to the game.”
Bellarmine will host its first Division I home game when the Knights welcome UT Chattanooga at 7 p.m. (ET) Wednesday in their new home venue of Freedom Hall.
“It’s Freedom Hall, it’s exciting,” Davenport said, “and Chattanooga is a very good basketball team.”
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Adam Pruiett