LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A tired University of Central Arkansas basketball team ran into a red-hot one on the road on Tuesday night, and it resulted in an 85-63 win for the Bellarmine Knights at Freedom Hall.
Bellarmine (8-8, 2-0) shot a blistering 63.2% from the field and made eight of 19 from three-point range in handing the Bears (5-11, 2-1) their first loss in ASUN Conference play. UCA, which played at home on Sunday rather than Saturday due to travel issues for its opponent, and then traveled Monday to Louisville, struggled on offense and defense on Tuesday. The main issue on defense was Bellarmine guard Dylan Penn, who poured in 38 points and shot 18 of 22 (82%) from the field.
That performance helped the Knights outscore the Bears 50-30 in the paint and win with only six free-throw attempts.
“That was the hand we were dealt, and we’ve got to toughen up and get better with it,” said UCA head coach Anthony Boone, whose team had won three straight games. “We told the guys this is a practice run for when we have this a couple more times this season, when we’re playing on Thursday-Saturday. It’s going to be short rest again.
“Now the opponents will have the same thing, too. But we didn’t do well with it this time around. We have to learn from it and get better.”
UCA led 8-7 early in the game but never again as Bellarmine shot 55.6% in the first half, with Penn scoring 18, three points more than his season average. UCA shot just 37.5% in the first half and trailed 34-24 at halftime. Bellarmine then outscored UCA 51-39 in the second half, improving to 69% shooting and going six of 11 from beyond the arc.
UCA finished with three players in double figures, led by sophomore guard Collin Cooper with 15 points. Freshman Ibbe Klintman had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Masai Olowokere added 12 points and was three of six from three-point range. UCA’s leading scorer on the season, Darious Hall, battled foul trouble and had six points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of action before fouling out.
“Ibbe had another good game,” Boone said. “And he’s had a couple two or three in a row now. He’s really coming along, really embracing the role he has on our team, and starting to assert himself a little more. He’s becoming the player that we saw he could be. He’s certainly getting more comfortable and growing into the player he can be.
“Masai came in and did a great job. He was pretty solid defensively and he shot the ball well. And once he started making some shots, the guys were looking for him and that was good to see. We’ll look for more of that from him.”
Penn, a 6-3 senior guard, was the only Knight to score in double figures. The next closest was forward Curt Hopf with nine points.
UCA returns to Scottie Pippen Court at the Farris Center on Saturday, taking on the North Alabama Lions at approximately 3:15 following the Sugar Bears’ game.
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