LOUISVILLE, Ky.--The visiting Indiana University Southeast men's basketball team got a career high 35 points from guard Jazzmarr Ferguson as the Grenadiers upset the Bellarmine Knights 87-80 tonight in the fourth game of the Fern Valley Hotel Classic in Knights Hall.

The Grenadiers did most of their damage by bombing away from beyond the 3-point arc, where they hit 13 of their 23 attempts and outscored Bellarmine 39-9 from long range. The Knights ruled the inside game, outrebounding IU Southeast 37-28 and outscoring them 40-24 in the paint, led by junior Nick Holmes , who tied a career high with 24 points.

"It's a team loss," said Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport.  "When you get outscored by 30 points from the 3-point line it's practically impossible to win," he said.

Bellarmine enjoyed a brief lead to open the game, but it didn't take long for the IU Southeast sharpshooters to start connecting from long range and soon opened up their largest lead of the game--13 points--at the 9:04 mark of the first half.  The Knights were able to claw their way back into the game, and the halftime margin was just 43-41 after Justin Benedetti drained a three at buzzer.

The Grenadiers did not cool off after intermission and opened up a double digit lead in the second half.  Again, the Knights battled back and took a brief lead late in the game. However, the shots just would not fall for Bellarmine and several untimely turnovers coupled with the solid free throw shooting of IU Southeast coming down the stretch sealed Bellarmine's fate.

The Knights hit just three of their 14 attempts from beyon the arc and finished the game shooting just 43.3 percent (26-60). Meanwhile, IU Southeast stayed hot all night hitting 32-58 shots for 55.2 percent. 

The loss snaps an 11-game home winning streak for the Knights, now 5-4 on the season.  For IU Southeast--ranked No. 7 in NAIA Division II--the win ups their season record to 9-3.

Bellarmine returns to action in one week, hosting another highly ranked NAIA team when the University of the Cumberlands visits Knights Hall on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.

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