LOUISVILLE, Ky. — CJ Fleming scored a career-high 27 points, Dylan Penn added 22 and Division I newcomer Bellarmine defeated Jacksonville 77-72 in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament final on Tuesday, handing the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to regular-season champion Jacksonville State.
Bellarmine is not eligible for the NCAA tournament as it is in the second of a four-year transition to Division I. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Louisville, Kentucky-based school is the first men’s team in the past 25 seasons to win its conference tournament while being ineligible for postseason play.
Instead, the Knights became heroes in Jacksonville, Alabama. Top-seeded Jacksonville State fell at home 54-51 to the Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday, but since Bellarmine is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks will go dancing.
“We’ve made it a point to…
