LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The 6th-ranked Bellarmine Knights clicked on all cylinders tonight as six different players reached double figures in dispatching the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots 112-58 in a non-conference game in the opening round of the Fern Valley Hotel Classic in Knights Hall. 

The 54-point margin of victory is the third largest in school history and the most lopsided victory since BU walloped Temple Baptist 108-47 on Nov. 23, 2004.

The Knights bolted out to a 7-0 lead from the outset and never looked back as the visitors from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference never seriously challenged the Knights.

Jeremy Kendle led all scorers with 22 points in just 25 minutes of action.  Also having a great outing was Chris Dowe, who poured in 19 points in just 20 minutes of action on 6-of-7 shooting.

Four Bellarmine players set new career highs in scoring:  Keisten Jones, 18; Ryan Burton, 12; Corbin Maynard, 10; and Stephen Asihene, 7.

Jelani Johnson, the junior transfer from Western Illinois, had his best performance as a Knight with 10 points, a career high five assists and four steals.

“I'm very proud of our guys,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport.  “We had a good week of practice and it transferred to a good basketball game.” 

Bellarmine hit its first nine shots from the field and finished the first half shooting at a 67.7 percent clip in stretching the halftime lead to 60-27.

In the second period, Bellarmine kept up the intensity and flirted with setting a new school record for largest victory margin. The record stands at 61, and the Knights pushed their lead to as many as 66 points.

Statistics reflect the same story as the scoreboard:  domination by the Knights.  Bellarmine outshot OVU 62.7 percent to 34.3 percent, held a rebounding advantage of 45-32, and committed seven fewer turnovers.

The Knights improve to 7-1 on the season while Ohio Valley falls to 3-5.

Bellarmine gets little time to enjoy the victory as the highly talented St. Catharine Patriots await the Knights in tomorrow's final game of the Fern Valley Hotel Classic.  In a game played just prior to the BU-OVU contest, the Patriots pushed No. 3 Southern Indiana to the limit before falling 65-62.

“Our players have tremendous respect for St. Catharine,” Davenport said. “They're as athletic as anybody we'll face all season.”

Game time tomorrow is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with USI taking on OVU at 5 p.m.

BOX SCORE