Box Score
Leave it to a senior to step up on Senior Night in what was perhaps his team's biggest game of the season.
Dazmond Starke scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds to help KWC pull off a 67-62 upset at home over No. 15 Bellarmine at the Sportscenter Saturday night.
The win brings the Panthers to a tie in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division standings and gives them a much-needed win over the No. 2 ranked team in the Midwest Region. At No. 9 in the first Region Rankings, KWC was on the bubble when it came to an NCAA Tournament berth.
"We definitely felt like we needed to win this game," Starke said. "We've been working on this game all week, even before we had to focus on McKendree. We had this game on our mind all the time."
When outside shooting proved to be a problem for the second straight game against Bellarmine, KWC went to its post game.
It seemed the Knights (19-6, 11-6 GLVC) had virtually no answer down low for Starke, who scored 15 points in the second half. He helped key a 12-2 run late in the second half and gave KWC (19-6, 11-6 GLVC) its first lead of the game, 57-55, on a basket inside to cap that run.
During that stretch, following a Starke basket, Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said to one of his assistant, "that's too easy."
KWC coach Todd Lee said they made an adjustment this game to exploit Starke's advantage down low. Bellarmine plays four guards typically and simply didn't have the size to match up with Starke.
"We did work on some things to get the ball inside to him that we didn't run last time and we were able to do that," he said. "That was an adjustment we made after they made their adjustment not to switch. …We needed to get the
ball to Daz. They do still front him, but if he can catch it and gather, he's pretty hard to guard to down there."
Davenport said his team just had trouble containing Starke and others inside all game. KWC outscored Bellarmine 44-26 in the paint.
"They pounded the ball inside. There's no secret about that," he said. "They dominated the offensive board. Dazmond Starke's one of the best, if not the best, inside players in the league."
Other than that, Lee said he didn't change a whole lot as far as the game plan went. KWC trailed 37-31 at halftime, despite Bellarmine going 5-for-5 on 3s and the Panthers going 0-for-5. Lee knew that if his team stayed true to the defensive plan that they could make a comeback.
Lee noted how on most of the Knights' possessions, the shot clock got to 10 seconds or less. Lee called that a "green situation," meaning they're either going to throw up a quick shot or go one-on-one.
"It seemed like 70 percent of the time we got them to a green," Lee said. "They're very patient and they were very good at sticking with what they run. I just told the guys, first of all we're doing a great job of guarding their concepts, but at the end of the shot clock we have to close out, the intensity has to go up. When you get to the green, that's when you've really go to start locking in."
That's exactly what KWC did. Just before Starke's go-ahead layup, the defense drew two straight shot clock violations to really grab the momentum and get the crowd on its feet. The Panther defense in general clamped down and held the Knights to 47.4 percent shooting in the second half, compared to 62.5 percent in the first half, and limited them to just one 3-pointer.
Bellarmine still hung close until the final minute when KWC was able to ice the game away at the free throw line.
"It's a huge win because we're right on the bubble and we needed this win," senior guard Kreig Oxley said. "We've still got business to take care of."
Earlier in the second half, Oxley came through with a clutch 3-pointer to bring KWC back within five, 48-43, with about 12 minutes left to play. That 3-pointer was big particularly because KWC was 0-for-11 on 3s the first time against Bellarmine and started off 0-for-7 before Oxley's 3. Lee pointed to that 3 as a big play to help "get the monkey" off the team's back.
In a sense, this win also lifts a huge weight off KWC's shoulders in terms of an NCAA Tournament berth. The Panthers are now riding a four-game winning streak heading into next Thursday's season finale at Southern Indiana.
"It's big…to get tied in the standings, to beat the No. 2 team in the region," Lee said. "Going into it, You don't talk about all those things. Obviously, our guys just need to win games. But, it is a big game for those reasons and now we're tied with them. We just beat the No. 2 team in the region. It's a great win."
