CINCINNATI, Ohio—The Bellarmine Men's Basketball Team concluded their preseason schedule on Thursday evening with a 76-69 exhibition loss against the University of Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.

The Knights were burned on the glass, getting outrebounded 44-31 on the evening.  Bellarmine allowed the Bearcats to collect 22 offensive boards for the game.

A quartet of Bellarmine players scored in double figures, led by Jeremy Kendle's 16 points off 5-10 shooting.  Kendle also had four assists, a team high he shared with Justin Benedetti and Braydon Hobbs.  Nick Holmes added 14 more points to go with his team high seven rebounds.

The Bearcats controlled the possession in the first half, riding out to a 39-27 halftime advantage.  Cincinnati capitalized on their 28-18 rebounding advantage in the frame with 12 second-chance points, compared to Bellarmine's six.

The Knights cut the Cincinnati lead to four points just before the first media timeout of the second half when Benedetti bottomed a three-pointer from the right wing, off an outlet pass by Hobbs.

Cincinnati proceeded to score eight of the game's next 10 points after Oladapo Fagbenle was sent to the bench with his fourth personal foul.  Bellarmine would pull no closer than a five-point margin at the 5:20 mark the remainder of the contest.   

The Bearcats were led by Darnell Wilks' 16 points.  Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy led the rebounding effort, pulling down seven apiece.

The Knights open up the 2009-10 regular season on Saturday evening against Salem International University in the opening game of the John Dickensheets Classic, hosted by West Virginia State University.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Institute, W. Va.

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