LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Bellarmine University alumni missed the memo that with two NBA players on its roster the University of Louisville squad was on a direct trip to big things in The Basketball Tournament.

They didn’t retreat from Montrezl Harrell. They did not flinch from David Johnson. They did not run away from Russ Smith.

No surprise. UKnighted, the Bellarmine squad, played like they came to Freedom Hall directly from one of Scott Davenport’s practices.

They shared the ball. They faked. They moved. They scrambled. And they made half of the first 14 three-point shots they attempted.

Late in the second quarter, after a Braydon Hobbs three, the Bellarmine guys led The Ville, 44-32.

"I think the TBT was scared," Hobbs said, winking. "You all were scared, too."

Tournament organizers announced that 5,987 fans, the fourth largest crowd in TBT history, came to Freedom Hall at 1 p.m. on the third Saturday in July to watch a basketball game.

The gathering included Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm and several of his assistants. Cardinal basketball legends Darrell Griffith and Gorgui Dieng had baseline seats. Fans brought 2013 NCAA championship banners and ignited the C-A-R-D-S cheer multiple times. 

A Bellarmine upset is not what they expected to see.

And that is not what they saw. Harrell, Johnson, Smith, Chris Jones, Peyton Siva and the rest of the Louisville had no interest in a one-and-done exit in this single elimination 64-team tournament that ends with a $1 million winner-take-all prize.

The Ville tightened their defense, pounded the post and surged past UKnighted for a 79-70 victory. Jones made the game winner, a contested 12-footer at the baseline — and then immediately waved to the crowd.

"The little adversity that we had made us come together a little closer," said former U of L star Reece Gaines, head coach of TheVille.

Credit Harrell, the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Johnson, the former Trinity star, had 17 and Jones had 14.

Harrell has played eight NBA seasons. After missing last season while recovering from a torn ACL, Harrell intends to play a ninth. Anybody who watched the national telecast saw that Harrell has not lost an ounce of his trademark tenacity.

Harrell played like this was the seventh game of the NBA Finals. He encouraged his teammates, occasionally with a stern lecture. He waved his arms, asking for more energy from the crowd. He wanted the ball. He made free throws, He said that this team won two TBT games without him last season and he did not join the roster to go home Saturday night.

"Just playing the game of basketball at that high level, I love it, man," Harrell said. "It was amazing. 

"When they started calling out the starting lineup, I started looking around at the crowd. I hadn't been out on the basketball floor in a setting like this, an environment like this, a meaningful game like this in a while.

"Just to be able to do it in front of a fan base where they know I leave it all out there between those lines, it was amazing. I couldn't ask for a better homecoming than that."

After making 8 of 18 three-point shots in the first half, UKnighted went 4 for 16 from distance in the second half. Dylan Penn scored 20 and Vance Hall had 18 for the Bellarmine squad. Don't tell Rick Pitino but Gaines switched TheVille out of Pitino's trademark pressure man-to-man defense and mixed in a solid helping of zone.

"We've got a tremendous spirit, an unbreakable will to win," Gaines said. "Coach P put that in us. The guys that he recruited that's where they come from. They overcame a lot of stuff."

This is the 11th season of the TBT. The only three larger crowds were registered in Wichita, Kansas. The TBT record is 7,202 -- and local fans will have their shot to eclipse that.

TheVille will return to Freedom Hall Monday at 7 p.m. for a second round game. They will play either Sideline Cancer, which won its opener by 23 points on Saturday. Sideline Cancer has been a consistent TBT contender. Its victory Saturday was the program's 17th in multiple TBT appearances. 

Get this: Sideline Cancer has added Jack Gohlke, the guy who made 10 three-point shots in Oakland's upset NCAA Tournament win over Kentucky, to its roster.

Don't forget that in his final season as a Cardinal (2020-21) David Johnson played in front of smaller crowds that this every night. His farewell season was the COVID season. Johnson appreciated the scene on Saturday,

"It was amazing," Johnson said. "My last year here I played in front of no fans. So it was good to be back in the city of Louisville and playing in front of fans."

"The relationship with the fans is real," Gaines said. "We were made from their love and their criticism and support. You've got to be mentally tough to play here. It forges you in a different kind of way."

It showed in the second half at Freedom Hall Saturday.

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