Box Score
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University men’s basketball team gutted out a 79-74 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan tonight in a sold out Knights Hall to earn their second straight NCAA Midwest Regional Championship and a berth into the Elite 8 next week in Highland Heights, Ky.
The Knights’ Chris Dowe earned regional most outstanding player after his 21 point, 10-rebound, 6-assist effort helped turn back the 18th-ranked Panthers for the third time this season.
Playing without 6-8 forward Luke Sprague, who missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury, Bellarmine got a big-time performance from Jelani Johnson, who came off the bench to post a career high with 11 points, including a clutch basket to put the Knights up nine with 5:07 remaining.
The Panthers played like the No. 18 ranking they own by crashing the boards for a plus-11 rebound margin and pushing the Knights to the very last minute. Bellarmine countered the Panthers’ board work by challenging every shot and registering a season-high 10 blocked shots while holding KWC to 39 percent shooting.
Leading the charge with a career high seven blocks was Braydon Hobbs , who showed the versatility that earned him GLVC Player of the Year award this year, by also racking up 14 points, eight assists and seven rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
Bellarmine jumped out of the gates well, running out to 13-4 lead before the Panthers, as they did in all three regional games, mounted a comeback, and eventually pulled ahead 24-23 on a Marseilles Stewart three. From that point, neither team led by more than three, and the two GLVC rivals went into halftime deadlocked at 31.
Coming out of the break, both teams had empty possessions before Bellarmine struck first on a short jumper by Jeremy Kendle, and the Knights would never surrender the lead.
However, the game was far from over. Every time Bellarmine would get a little separation, KWC came back and hung within striking distance the rest of the way.
After a Brandon Johnson triple brought the Panthers within five at the 1:03 mark, a layup by Hobbs and pair of Richie Phares free throws following a KWC turnover put the Knights ahead by nine with just 33 seconds in the game.
Although KWC scored seven points in the final 33 seconds, the Knights kept them at bay as Jeremy Kendle hit three of four free throws to salt the game away. As the Knights dribbled out the game’s final seconds, the raucous Knights Hall crowd erupted into a celebration before a ceremony announced the All Regional Team of Dowe (MOP), Hobbs, Kendle, Anthony Young (KWC), Brandon Johnson (KWC), and Cardell McFarland (KWC).
After the Panthers were recognized for their second place regional finish, the Midwest Regional Championship trophy was awarded, and for the second year in a row, the party was rocking on the Knights Hall floor as the soundtrack from the fan-produced video “We’re Back” blared over the PA system.
Bellarmine improves to 28-3 on the year while KWC ends its season at 23-8. The Knights now move on to the Elite 8 at Northern Kentucky University, which will be played March 21-24 at the Bank of Kentucky Center. Bellarmine’s first opponent will be the No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers at 6 p.m. on March 21.