Louisville City Wire

Johnson's hot shooting sparks Knights in commanding triumph over JSU

Highlighted by a sizzling shooting display off the bench by freshman guard Ben Johnson and a commanding second half, the Knights completed a season sweep of the Gamecocks with a 71-64 victory in ASUN action.

Johnson went 7-for-10 from 3-point range — burying his first five attempts — in racking up a game-high 23 points for Bellarmine (11-14, 6-6 ASUN), which led by 17 points with less than four minutes remaining before a late spurt by Jacksonville State (10-15, 3-9) made it less lopsided.

"We see it every day — I don't use the word 'culture,' this is a 'program,' " Knights Coach Scott Davenport said. "We had one of the most incredible lifts before the game with all these former players in that locker room. To me, tonight won't be about 71-64. Tonight is about those players representing everybody before them in Bellarmine fashion."

Senior guard Garrett Tipton scored all 19 of his points in the second half as Bellarmine took the lead for good on a Johnson 3-pointer with 13:12 left. It jump-started a game-changing 21-5 run fueled by Johnson and Tipton and punctuated by a thunderous slam dunk from sophomore forward Langdon Hatton off a steal and feed from freshman guard Peter Suder.

Hatton's jam boosted the lead to 58-42 with 6:42 remaining. Later, a 3-pointer from Tipton and a pair of free throws by Suder extended the advantage to 17 as the clock ticked under four minutes. Jacksonville State never threatened, hitting a couple meaningless 3-pointers late that trimmed the lead to single digits.

Suder supplied 15 points and led a solid 20-for-25 outing from the free-throw line by hitting all seven of his attempts. Senior guard Alec Pfriem dished out a game-high six assists and added five rebounds. Tipton pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Bellarmine's second-half defense was a catalyst to victory. After Jacksonville State shot 50 percent in the first half in taking a 29-28 lead, the Knights limited the Gamecocks to 37.5 percent from the floor in the second stanza. BU went 9-for-21 from 3-point land while holding JSU to 5-for-18 from beyond the arc.

Bellarmine's offense matched its defense in the second half. The Knights shot 57.9 percent after the intermission while sinking 17 of their 20 opportunities at the charity stripe.

"There are very few negatives in this game," Davenport said.

Bellarmine will play at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday at Liberty.

Davenport reiterated his appreciation for the attending alumni, who celebrated a Homecoming victory with their team.

"This was for a program and to have those other guys here," Davenport said, "it just means even more."

Original source can be found here.