Men's Basketball Falls At No. 4 Bellarmine 89-79

LOUISVILLE, KY. – The Northwood University men's basketball team opened their 2015-16 season with an 89-79 loss at No. 4 Bellarmine Saturday night (November 14).

The game was a part of the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge. It was the season opener for both teams.

The opening half was tightly contested. Bellarmine held an early seven point lead, but that would prove to be the biggest lead for either team in the opening half. Neither team led by more than three points over the final 12 minutes of the half. A Jermaine Myers (Ajax, Ontario/Fordham) 3-pointer on NU's final possession of the half gave the Timberwolves a 42-41 lead at the break. The Timberwolves shot 41.9 percent from the floor in the half (13-31) while Bellarmine finished at 57.7 percent (15-26). Northwood earned the lead by making two more 3-ponters (5-3) and three more free throws (11-8).

Bellarmine scored on their first possession of the second half and would lead the rest of the way, but the Knights would not put it away until the closing minutes. Northwood had the ball trailing 77-74 with less than four minutes to go but was unable to score. The Knights then went on a 12-0 run to open up an 89-74 lead and put the game away.

Bellarmine's second-half offense was the key to the win for the Knights. BU scored 48 points, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor (15-27) and 88.9 percent from the foul line (16-18).

For the game, Northwood finished at 41.2 percent (28-68) from the floor, 35.5 percent from 3-point range (11-31) and 85.7 percent from the foul line (12-14). Bellarmine ended up at 56.6 percent from the floor (30-53), 50.0 percent from 3-point range (5-10) and 75.0 percent from the foul line (24-32).  The Knights held a big advantage for the game in points in the paint, out-scoring Northwood 44-20.

Leading the way for Northwood was senior guard Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill). He ended up with 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) added 15 points, while Myers and Nick Spitzley (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Northwood will take on St. Joseph's Sunday (November 15). Game time is set for 5 p.m.