Both literally and figuratively, the Bellarmine University men’s basketball team got the ball rolling Friday night at fabled Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Knights took on No. 6 Duke in their 2020-21 season opener, launching their entrance into Division I play along the way. Men’s basketball also became the first of Bellarmine’s former Division II teams to compete as a DI squad after fall sports were postponed due to the pandemic.
Living up to their longstanding reputation as a premier DI program under Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils prevailed 76-54 over the Knights in the Mako Medical Duke Classic behind a bevy of 3-pointers.
Sophomore forward Nick Thelen hit 7-of-9 shots in scoring 14 points in 25 minutes – all career highs – for Bellarmine (0-1). Senior forward Ethan Claycomb finished one point shy of his career high in scoring 13 on 5-of-7 shooting. Junior guard Pedro Bradshaw scored eight points and tied for game-high rebound honors with seven.
Matthew Hurt poured in a game-high 24 points for Duke (2-1) and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12. The Blue Devils duo combined to sink 10 of 12 from 3-point land, with Hurt nailing six treys and Brakefield knocking down all four of his attempts from deep. Duke canned 13 of its 26 opportunities from beyond the arc in the game compared to three 3-pointers for the Knights.
“You’re picking your poison,” Knights Coach Scott Davenport said of defending Duke’s potent offense. “They made (their 3-pointers). You have to credit them.”
Junior guard Dylan Penn scored Bellarmine’s first Division I basket about two minutes into the game to tie it at 2, but Duke bolted out to an 18-4 lead in threatening to put away the contest early. The Knights stiffened after the first nine minutes and commanded the next nine, going on a 21-10 run to cut their deficit to only three at 28-25 after a Claycomb basket.
“You can’t simulate their athleticism and physicality in practice no matter how long you have,” Davenport said. “But after the first eight minutes or so, we adjusted. No question. I was proud of that.”
Bellarmine had a chance to remain within three with 1:29 left before halftime, but the Knights missed a pair of free throws. Jordan Goldwire followed with a 3-pointer, and Wendell Moore Jr. converted a Bellarmine turnover into a basket as the Blue Devils ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-25 lead into the intermission.
“I thought the key point in the game was at the end of the first half,” Davenport said. “We came into halftime down 10, and we could have been down five points.”
Penn opened the scoring in the second half with a basket to cut Duke’s lead to single digits, but the Blue Devils boosted the advantage to 19 a little over seven minutes into the stanza and led by as many as 24. Duke was consistent throughout from 3-point range, hitting six in the first half and seven after the break.
Behind Thelen and Claycomb, Bellarmine held a 38-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Knights also had an 18-16 edge in points off turnovers. While much smaller than its opponent, Bellarmine allowed only eight second-chance points.
Duke shot 51.8 percent to 43.4 percent for the Knights, who did improve in the second half while shooting at a 48 percent clip.
Bellarmine will play at 6 p.m. (ET) Sunday at Howard in Washington, DC in its second and final game of the Mako Medical Duke Classic. Howard is the co-host of the event.
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