BY QUIN WELCH, SPORTS EDITOR
Like most college basketball coaches, Scotty Davenport generally expects to see his team’s best basketball heading into March. On Thursday night, he was disappointed in what he saw in the Bellarmine’s 81-71 victory of Missouri-St. Louis, particularly because he sees their potential.
“This team is so capable. That’s why I was disappointed in them,” Davenport said.
Davenport’s disappointment stemmed mostly from the Knights’ subpar defensive effort, as the Knights allowed the Tritons to shoot nearly 44 percent from the field and 39 from behind the 3-point line.
“We didn’t play the game together defensively. It was just one-on-one defense, blow-bys, and nobody had one another’s support,” Davenport said.
Davenport, typically one to play up a victory no matter how the game went, acknowledged the Knights’ offensive success on Thursday, but said the lack of Bellarmine’s defensive prowess so late in the year bothered him.
“We did not play team defense. Now, we had 19 assists, 32 baskets, we shot 53 percent, but we didn’t play great team defense,” he said. “We guarded one-on-one, it was just five one-on-one games. We can’t play like that.”
Junior forward Rusty Troutman, who scored 22 points, said Davenport wasn’t the only one disappointed with how the Knights played on Thursday night.
“We just didn’t play well, man,” Troutman said. “It was just one of those nights.”
Davenport complimented the Tritons, who came into the game 9-12 overall and 4-9 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, despite playing up his team’s poor display on Thursday night.
“We beat a team playing really, really good. They came in here winning four in a row,” Davenport said. “Two of their losses were an 80-foot shot at the horn against Lewis and an overtime game against Quincy. So we had unbelievable respect for them, and they’re good. They’re really good.”
Missouri-St. Louis head coach Bob Sundvold said Troutman’s 14 points in the final 5:21 of the first half swung the game in the Knights’ favor after his team put up a scrappy effort for most of the half.
“Troutman got three baskets in a row and made a run at us and they got to the free-throw line. We couldn’t keep ‘em off the foul line,” Sundvold said.
As the regular season draws to a close, Davenport said he hopes his team’s performance on Thursday night isn’t indicative of their belief in themselves.
“I know how good they can be. But it doesn’t make a difference what I think. It’s gotta what they think,” Davenport said.