BY QUIN WELCH, Sports Editor
Anybody who watches basketball knows the sport is a game of runs. Games are often determined by who goes on the biggest run at the most opportune time.
On Saturday night, Bellarmine didn’t play particularly well for a majority of the game, but a 14-1 run between the 10:17 and 7:33 mark in the second half spurred the Knights to victory over Christian Brothers University by a final score of 68-51.
Bellarmine, coming off of wins against Northwood and Saginaw Valley State as part of the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge, shot just 10 of 33 (30.3 percent) in the first half. The Knights managed to muster a meek 26 points in the first half and led by just five at halftime. Junior forward Rusty Troutman attributed the Knights’ lackluster offensive performance in the first half to missed opportunities.
“In the first half, we missed a lot of layups,” Troutman said. “I know I missed a couple, Yasin (Kolo) missed a couple. I missed a bunch of easy shots.”
Junior point guard Al Davis said things started to turn around offensively when the Knights stepped on the gas pedal.
“As we started pushing the tempo, we started playing a lot better,” Davis said. “Coach wanted us to push the tempo, create turnovers and go from there… We did really good in the second half doing that.”
Although it took a while for the Knights to get that fast tempo going, they did eventually. And when they did, they didn’t look back.
Bellarmine looked like the team fans saw in the games against Northwood and SVSU, scoring at will. During the 14-1 run that sealed the game’s fate, the Knights did they do best: pass, make free throws and hit 3-point shots.
With 10:17 left to play, Bellarmine led by four, 42-38. Bellarmine started its run with a George Suggs layup off an assist from sophomore point guard Jarek Coles. Coles then dished one to Rusty Troutman, who converted a one-and-one with 9:52 left to play. After hitting two more free throws, Troutman hit a 3-pointer at the 8:31mark. After a Davis assist to Coles, Troutman made a layup with 7:33 left to play to cap the run and make the score 54-39.
Christian Brothers head coach Mike Nienaber said the Knights’ experience was a key component of Bellarmine’s run.
“Usually, the better team is going to have a run where they do something like that,” Nienaber said. “A younger team, an inexperienced team doesn’t have the mindset to come down and go, ‘You know what? We don’t need to hurry right now, we need to slow down.’”
Coach Scotty Davenport said he was pleased with the grit his team showed to get the job done in the end.
“We said before the game our defense had to be able to create our offense,” Davenport said. “When we did it, we did a great job of finishing.”
Troutman, who set two career highs in a row against Northwood and SVSU, nearly did it a third time, scoring 28 points. The former Bullitt East star was the only Knight to score in double figures. Adam Dieball, a freshman forward, led Christian Brothers in scoring with 11.
Bellarmine will travel to Findlay, Ohio, Tuesday to take on the University of Findlay.