New scoreboard, old problem: Bellarmine goes cold late in 74-59 loss to Jacksonville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Bellarmine men's basketball team returned to Knights Hall for the first time in 25 days to find a newly installed video board above the court and a video board in a new scorer's table.

The Knights' showed a few new wrinkles on the court, too, utilizing a 2-3 zone and full-court pressure at times in Tuesday's game against Jacksonville. But they also suffered a well-known nemesis – a lengthy scoring drought – late in the contest, and fell to Jacksonville 74-59 after trailing by only two with just over 11 minutes to play.

Bellarmine (3-13) managed just two points in the game's final 7:12, falling to its sixth consecutive loss and third straight to open ASUN play.

Jacksonville grabbed the lead from the start, jumping up 11-2 before Bellarmine settled in a bit offensively. A three-pointer by Dezmond McKinney at the halftime buzzer left the Knghts down 38-28 at the break.

"I told our guys at halftime, they had 15 more shots than we did," Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport. "You have to hit an incredible amount from the three-point line or free-throw line to make that up. . . . We go in at half down 10. We score (in the second half), we make our run, and then, I don't know. We cut it to two. We had a chance to cut it to three, we miss, and they go down and hit a three."

Davenport continues to look for answers with a team that is undersized but plays well enough in stretches to be more competitive than it has been. The Knights were outrebounded 39-26 and had 14 turnovers with just 10 assists.

"I'd have to look up the last time we had more turnovers than assists," Davenport said.

Even with that, Bellarmine had its chances, until it scored only two points over seven minutes, and saw Jacksonville make four straight three-pointers to rebuild its lead.

Jack Karasinski finished with 14 points to lead Bellarmine, while Ben Johnson had 11. They were the only Knights to score in double figures.

Next up is a visit from conference foe North Florida, who comes in on a five-game losing streak after falling at EKU Thursday night. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.