LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Barry University basketball team came to Bellarmine ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II, but No. 1 in field-goal percentage defense. It was, Knights coach Scott Davenport observed, the classic immoveable object against an unstoppable force, given that Bellarmine leads Division II in field goal percentage.
In Knights Hall on Tuesday night, the unstoppable object prevailed. Bellarmine diced Barry’s defense for 55.8 percent shooting, built a 43-16 first-half lead, and cruised to a 90-67 win before a crowd of 1,829 in the second game of the Bellarmine Classic.
Davenport tweaked Bellarmine’s motion a bit, the players picked it up like they’ve been doing it all their lives, and the Knights wound up with open look after open look, while dishing out 20 assists, half of those by All-American Adam Eberhard, who finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in 25 minutes.
Bellarmine improved to 8-0 and won its 61st straight home game. Barry fell to 7-2.
“"t was an incredible night of basketball for us at both ends," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "It was great from a preparation standpoint. The assistant coaches did a phenomenal job, and then the players transferred it into competition. One of our goals tonight was to enjoy each other, and tonight I give an A-plus for that.”
What’s not to enjoy? Bellarmine played with great balance. Chavarsky Corbett and Alex Cook led the Knights with 14 points each. Ben Weyer, whose back-to-back three-pointers with a little over to five minutes in the first half put the exclamation point on a 25-4 run, finished with 13 points while Daniel Ramser had 12.
The Knights went 8-22 from three-point range and shot 21-30 (70 percent) on two-point attempts. They also went 24-28 from the free-throw line.
It was a striking display of offensive efficiency, but in the decisive first-half run, it was defense that again made the difference for Bellarmine.
“I would never have guessed this in a million years,” Davenport said. “. . . They were switching a lot of things midway through the first half and we adjusted very well. . . . The atmosphere was incredible. I begged people all week. . . . And these players deserve it and genuinely appreciate it.”
Bellarmine returns to action Wednesday afternoon, facing Northern Michigan at 3 p.m. in Knights Hall.
BOX SCORE
BELLARMINE 90, BARRY 67
BARRY (7-2) BIRTS, Tylan 7-12 2-2 16; DOLVEN, Johannes 4-7 2-2 10; MORTENSEN, Daniel 3-7 1-1 10; PEREZ, Marcelo 3-3 0-0 8; MARCINKEVICIUS, Just 2-2 0-0 5; TOMIC, Marko 1-2 0-0 3; ALLENDE, Leandro 1-5 0-0 3; SHEFFIELD, Milon 1-3 0-0 3; WALSHE, Evan 1-6 0-0 3; ESPE, Lars 1-3 1-4 3; HOBBS, Isaiah 1-3 0-0 2; GUZONJIC, Kenan 0-2 1-2 1; FRANCIS, Charlie 0-0 0-0 0; MOYA, David 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 7-11 67.
BELLARMINE (8-0) Corbett, Chivarsky 6-10 0-0 14; Cook, Alex 4-5 6-7 14; Weyer, Ben 5-9 0-0 13; Ramser, Daniel 4-5 4-4 12; Fleming, CJ 1-1 6-6 9; Eberhard, Adam 3-6 2-2 8; Chitty, Parker 2-4 3-3 8; Jenkins, Tyler 2-5 1-2 5; Hunter, Skyler 1-4 0-0 3; Penny, Cobe 1-2 0-0 2; Betz, Juston 0-0 1-2 1; Schurfranz, Willie 0-0 1-2 1; Penn, Dylan 0-0 0-0 0; Claycomb, Ethan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-52 24-28 90.
Halftime--Bellarmine 47, Barry 23. 3-point goals--Barry 10-27 (MORTENSEN, Daniel 3-6; PEREZ, Marcelo 2-2; ALLENDE, Leandro 1-3; MARCINKEVICIUS, Just 1-1; TOMIC, Marko 1-2; SHEFFIELD, Milon 1-2; WALSHE, Evan 1-3; MOYA, David 0-3; HOBBS, Isaiah 0-1; ESPE, Lars 0-2; BIRTS, Tylan 0-2), Bellarmine 8-22 (Weyer, Ben 3-5; Corbett, Chivarsky 2-4; Hunter, Skyler 1-4; Fleming, CJ 1-1; Chitty, Parker 1-3; Penny, Cobe 0-1; Claycomb, Ethan 0-1; Jenkins, Tyler 0-1; Eberhard, Adam 0-1; Cook, Alex 0-1). Fouled out--Barry-None, Bellarmine-None. Rebounds--Barry 29 (TOMIC, Marko 5), Bellarmine 34 (Eberhard, Adam 7). Assists--Barry 19 (ESPE, Lars 4), Bellarmine 20 (Eberhard, Adam 7). Total fouls--Barry 23, Bellarmine 14. Technical fouls--Barry-TEAM, Bellarmine-None. Attendance--1829.
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