The Bellarmine Knights formally made the soar from DII to DI within the 2020-21 faculty 12 months, however they’re already snug of their new digs within the Atlantic Solar. Bellarmine gained the A-Solar males’s basketball convention match final season, however didn’t get the auto-bid to the NCAA match as a result of they have been ineligible as a program transitioning up a stage. As an alternative, the most important recreation on Bellarmine’s calendar is in opposition to crosstown huge brother Louisville. On Wednesday evening, they surprised the mighty Cardinals within the first recreation of the Kenny Payne period.
Bellarmine beat Louisville, 67-66, for an enormous victory for this system. The Knights led the sport many of the manner, but it surely was nonetheless contested all the way down to the ultimate seconds. After Louisville missed a pair possibilities late to drag forward, Knights guard Juston Betz obtained the rebound and determined to ice the sport in a completely distinctive however good manner. He tossed the ball out of bounds on the different finish of the courtroom, making certain Louisville must go the size of the ground after an inbounds move with lower than a second remaining.
Watch the play right here:
That’s a basketball punt, and it’s lovely. I’m sufficiently old to recollect when Michael Ruffin tried one thing related for the Washington Wizards again in 2007, however the Raptors caught the ball and hit the game-winner. Ballarmine pulled it off so significantly better.
This could be a protracted 12 months for Louisville. The Playing cards already misplaced to D2 Lenoir-Rhyne within the preseason, and getting beat by your little brother to begin the 12 months is a tough look. As the good Mike Rutherford wrote in his recap at our Louisville neighborhood Card Chronicle:
Louisville followers must hope that someday it is going to merely function a curious anecdote: Do you know the primary recreation Kenny Payne coached was truly a house loss to Bellarmine?
Payne might flip across the program ultimately, however he’s already beginning at all-time low. What a win for Ballarmine.