LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This was supposed to be a big night for Bellarmine, a shot at a nation Top 100-NET ranked opponent in conference, at home, in front of a Freedom Hall crowd anticipated to be one of the largest of the season.
Instead, the game was moved to 1:30 p.m. because of an ice storm, and Bellarmine, in the second half against Liberty, played to the theme. After erasing an early 8-point deficit to go to halftime tied at 25, Bellarmine couldn’t make shots in the second half, and even more concerning to head coach Scott Davenport, couldn't stop Liberty in a 66-53 loss at Freedom Hall.
The defeat was only Bellarmine's second in 9 conference games, but it spoiled what coaches and players alike hoped would be a step forward for the fledgling NCAA Division I program.
"Obviously I haven't been outside, but I can speak about being cold," said Davenport, whose team made just 10-of-27 shots in the second half. "You have to give Liberty a lot of credit. We held them to 44 percent shooting, but in the game of basketball, they won the moments today."
Davenport pointed to the closing seconds of the first half. Bellarmine led by 3 and had the ball with a chance to take the last shot. But guard CJ Fleming was called for an offensive foul on a hand-off, and Liberty's Darius McGhee made the Knights pay with a 28-foot three-pointer that swished through at the buzzer to tie the game.
Then Liberty opened the second half with a steal and a three-pointer.
"That's a 6-point moment right there," Davenport said. "And honestly, we never recovered. They're an incredibly balanced basketball team. . . . We attempted to make runs, and right at the moment – and I use that again, right at the moment – we miss a great look and they turn around and score right away at the other end. Every timeout, we'd say, let's score two straight possessions, we're down nine, we get it to 4 or 5 and we're right back. But we could not get over that moment. The whole game. Not that we didn't try. Preparation was incredible. Attitude was phenomenal. It's OK to give Liberty credit. They're great basketball team."
Liberty jumped on top early 8-0 as Bellarmine struggled from the field, but the Knights began to string together stops and rallied themselves to take a 7-point lead. They couldn't push it further out though, and Liberty rallied at the end of the half.
"We stopped them (in the first half)," Davenport said. "We couldn't get any stops in the second half. They missed they missed nine shots in the second half and got two offensive rebounds. That's seven clean stops in 20 minutes. The first half they missed 17 shots and had three offensive rebounds. That's it. Break it down. Statistically that's it right there. It's defense."
Davenport also said that Liberty succeeded in controlling tempo. They run a precise, grinding style that head coach Ritchie McKay learned as an assistant to Tony Bennett at Virginia, and their defense is just as disciplined.
Liberty was led by Shiloh Robinson with 17 points, Kyle Rode had 14 and McGhee and Keegan McDowell chipped in 13 each.
Bellarmine got 14 points from Fleming, 11 from Ethan Claycomb and 10 from Dylan Penn. The Knights, however went just 5-22 from 3-point range.
They got some good looks against Liberty's defense, but even their open shots bounced off. It was this kind of day. Fleming missed a free throw late in the game. He had made 47 in a row.
"They expose any mistake you make," Davenport said. "You've got to play great team defense. You make a mistake, your man is scoring. And obviously by the end of the first half Darius McGhee stretches your defense to places that no other team in America stretches you to. I mean, he does. It makes it hard. It really makes it difficult. . . . When they get ahead eight, they might as well be hit 20 It's tough."
Now, Bellarmine will look to regroup to face a hard-luck Kennesaw State team that is much improved but is losing one close game after another, including a triple-overtime heartbreaker on Thursday.
The Knights, meanwhile, will look to heal some disappointment of their own.
"There's nobody feels worse," Davenport said. "Nobody tried any harder than those players in that locker room. . . . But we'll be ready to work again tomorrow."
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