LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – You know it’s a big deal when an opponent beats you in overtime, then takes a second to snap a team selfie on your home court after the game. Indianapolis was the team smiling after an 81-76 overtime win in Knights Hall Monday night.
There were, among the 663 teams in NCAA Division I and II men’s basketball, just two unbeaten teams heading into Monday night. After No. 23-ranked Indy cut that number in half by knocking off top-ranked Bellarmine, Knights’ coach Scott Davenport said the visitors deserved credit.
“Basketball is a game of moments, and they won the moments,” he said. “They hit their free throws, we missed ours. They made the big three at half. You give them credit. They won the moments tonight, absolutely.”
In its final season of Division II basketball, and carrying a No. 1 ranking, the Knights have multiple targets on their backs. But they didn't match Indy's early emotion, or execution.
Indy sprinted to an early lead and finished the first half with a flourish, getting a buzzer-beating three by Trevor Lakes to go into the half up 15. The Knights committed 11 turnovers, nearly half of them unforced, and went just 5-12 from the free-throw line and 2 of 9 from three-point range, to help dig their hole.
They still trailed by 14 with just under 11 minutes to play, then began to whittle into their deficit, finally pulling even with a three-pointer by Ethan Claycomb, set up by a Dylan Penn steal, with 25 seconds left.
The Knights twice took a two-point lead early in OT, but missed their last eight shots over the final 3:33 of the period, and did not score in the final 1:56, to drop to 14-1 overall, 7-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
It was a uncharacteristic statistical night for the Knights. Indy outscored Bellarmine 21-10 off turnovers. Bellarmine, which came into the game ranked No. 2 in Division II in team free-throw percentage, went just 16-28 from the line.
"Do what we’re taught -- that's all we were stressing," Davenport said. "Do what we're taught in practice. It's frustrating as a teacher when you see something in the game that's the opposite of what you've taught, taught, taught in practice. That's deflating as a teacher. But you learn and go. There's no time to dwell on it.”
Bellarmine got 21 points from Alex Cook and 16 from Ben Weyer. Pedro Bradshaw added 11. The Knights are back in action quickly, playing host to Southwest Baptist on Thursday night.
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