EVANSVILLE, Ind.--The No. 7 Bellarmine University men's basketball team dismantled the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 90-48 tonight in the opening game of the Bill Joergens Memorial Tournament hosted by the University of Southern Indiana.

Bellarmine (3-1) posted a balanced offensive attack led by Braydon Hobbs, who had a perfect shooting night, making all five of his shots--including four from 3-point range--for a game high 14 points in just 17 minutes of action. Nine different Bellarmine players scored at least six points tonight as no one played more than 24 minutes.

The Knights also put forth a solid defensive effort, forcing the Bulldogs into 17 turnovers (12 over their average) and limited them to just 31.7 percent shooting.

"It was a very positive experience for us tonight," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, "because everyone made a contribution. And, the contribution didn't occur in the game, it happened in a tremendous week of practice," the coach said. 

"Our goal was to play possession by possession and stay in the moment," Davenport added. 

The Knights certainly met that goal as they raced out to an 11-2 lead over the first five minutes and just kept increasing the lead until the final buzzer sounded. The final score equaled Bellarmine's biggest lead of the night, and the 42-point victory marks the largest winning margin by a Bellarmine team since the Knights blew out Cincinnati-Clermont by 47 on Nov. 19, 2004.  

In tonight's contest, both teams were forced to play with depleted rosters. Minnesota-Duluth (2-3) came into the game missing three starters due to the flu, and Bellarmine's Oladapo Fagbenle missed the game due to an injury.  His status is listed as day to day.

Bellarmine will face Michigan Tech tomorrow at 6:15 (ET) in the second and final round of the tournament being played at Physical Activities Center on the campus of Southern Indiana.

BOX SCORE