The Bellarmine men’s basketball team fought back from a 10-point deficit to claim a 75-62 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the ASUN Conference on Saturday night. The Knights turned up their defensive intensity and capitalized on open shots to outscore the Gamecocks 43-25 in the second half.
Bellarmine drained 14 of 29 three-point attempts, including seven of 12 in the second period, and forced 17 turnovers from Jacksonville State. Down 42-32 at the 19:05 mark of the final period, the Knights launched a 20-5 run to take a 52-47 lead with 10:43 remaining. From there, they continued to pressure the ball defensively, rebound, and convert on the offensive end. In a three-minute span in the second half, the Knights forced six turnovers from the Gamecocks and had a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport attributed the comeback to the team’s second-half rebounding and improved shooting. “I think we’re minus five (in rebounding) the first half, and we outrebound them three in the second half…that’s the game right there,” said Davenport. “A big difference was that in the first half we had great shots, we just didn’t hit them. But in the second half, we made them.”
Garrett Tipton led the way for Bellarmine with a game-high 21 points, while Juston Betz contributed 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Curt Hopf added 10 points, six rebounds, and three steals, and Alec Priem chipped in 13 points with a team-high four assists. Freshman Peter Suder tied Hopf for game-high honors with six rebounds and scored nine points.
The Gamecocks (7-10, 0-4 ASUN) started strong, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown in the first half. However, their shooting percentage finished at 47.9 percent and their three-point shooting cooled to 36.7 percent (11 of 30) by game’s end. Demaree King led the JSU offense with 16 points, while Skyelar Potter added 14.
Bellarmine (7-10, 2-2 ASUN) will host the ASUN co-leader Stetson on Thursday in Freedom Hall before playing the FGCU Eagles at home on Saturday.
