INSTITUTE, W.V.--The Bellarmine University men's basketball team won their second game in two days by turning back the Chargers of Hillsdale College 76-68 in the John Dickensheets Classic hosted by West Virginia State University.

The Knights were led by Jeremy Kendle , who came off the bench to pour in 24 points and dish out five assists.  Bellarmine--ranked No. 1 in the preseason in two different polls--used a strong rebounding and defensive game to offset poor shooting to defeat the team picked to finish second in the competitive GLIAC conference. 

"It's just tremendous to be 2-0, especially when you consider this was our third game in five days--starting with a legitimate Big East team in Cincinnati," said Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport.  "I couldn't be prouder of our guys. That was a quality win over a team that I think will be in the NCAA tournament."

Davenport also singled out the performances of several Bellarmine players.  "Andrew Patterson  gave us a big lift tonight with 12 deflections, that's got to be a career high," he said. "And, Jeremy Kendle just continues to get better--both in practice and in game situations."

Bellarmine junior Nick Holmes  also turned in a career performance by hauling in 15 rebounds on the night.

The Chargers charged out of the gates and had Bellarmine in 6-0 hole to start the game, but the Knights responded with a five-point run to close within one early on.  From that point on the first half stayed pretty competitive with both teams holding a six-point lead during the opening period. The Knights held a 36-31 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Bellarmine opened up an early nine-point lead only to see it shrink to just two at the 15:28 mark.  The Knights dug in, however, and continued to rule the boards as they steadily built a double-digit lead, and owned a 17-point advantage when Kendle drained a 3-pointer at the 6:11 mark.

The Chargers refused to go away quietly, and got as close as four, but the Knights--who struggled again at the free throw line--hit all four of their opportunities from the charity stripe in game's final minute to preserve the victory.

Bellarmine (2-0) again placed four players in double figures as Patterson and Braydon Hobbs  both tallied 11 and Justin Benedetti  recorded 10.  Hobbs also contributed a game high eight assists.  Hillsdale (0-2) was led by Brent Eaton who hit 4 of 8 3-pointers on his way to 17 points.  

The Knights return to action when the travel to Detroit, Mich., to face Wayne State on Saturday at 3 p.m.

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