After losing in their first game in the ASUN tournament, the Bellarmine basketball program got a second chance to win their first postseason game in Division I history. Playing in their first CBI, Bellarmine drew a great Army team but they were able to hold off a late rally and win 77-67 to advance to the semifinals.
The Knights started the game off strong by scoring the first 8 points. Army would not allow the game to get out of hand as they kept the game close. With 4:42 remaining and the score knotted at 24, the Black Knights went on an 11-2 run to build a lead. The teams traded baskets over the last minute and Army entered the half up 40-31.
Bellarmine came out of the half with a vengeance as they came out on a 9-2 run. The Black Knights held off Bellarmine from taking the lead for a while as they kept on matching them shot for shot. Bellarmine eventually tied it with a Dylan Penn three-point play with 14:21 remaining. Pedro Bradshaw would notch two free throws on the next possession to put the Knights up 50-48. Bellarmine would extend their lead but Army kept it interesting for fans. With the game on the line late, nobody came up bigger than Bradshaw as he scored the final 7 points for the Knights with the last 5 coming from the free-throw line.
Takeaways for Bellarmine basketball
Three-point shooting has been a specialty for CJ Fleming all season and Monday night was no different. Fleming was on fire as he connected with 5 of his 7 attempts. Fleming was the only Knight to seem to have any luck from behind the arc as the rest of the team went 1-10 with the lone make coming from Bradshaw.
Defense has been a point of emphasis all season for Bellarmine and they continued to shine on that end. As a team they forced 8 steals and recorded 6 blocks. Penn led the team in steals with 3 and Juston Betz forced 2. Bradshaw led the block party with 3.
The Knights normally don’t commit many fouls during games but tonight several members battled foul trouble. Alec Pfriem, who started in place for an injured Nick Thelen, fouled out with a 1:38 remaining. Ethan Claycomb committed his third foul early in the second half and committed his 4th with 9:30 remaining. Luckily he never got his fifth to foul out. Fleming and Bradshaw also had 3 fouls over the course of the game. Bellarmine is going to have to be more cautious in order to have a shot at the CBI championship.
Player of the game
Pedro Bradshaw has had many great games this season but this one might’ve topped them all. He poured in a career-high 31 points. He also had a team-high 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Next Opponent
The Knights (14-7) will take on Pepperdine (13-12) in the CBI semifinals at 8 pm on Tuesday. The Waves defeated Longwood in the quarterfinals 80-66. They are also led by Colbey Ross who has a team-high 18 ppg. The Waves are coached by former Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. The game can be streamed on Flohoops.com or heard on 93.9 The Ville.
The winner of this semifinal will face the winner of Stetson (12-14) and Coastal Carolina (17-7) on Wednesday night.
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