INSTITUTE, W. V.--The No. 3 Bellarmine University men's basketball team went into West Virginia State's Fleming Hall and handed the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season by a final score of 103-79 in game two of the John Dickinsheets Classic.

The Knights (2-0) rolled past the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference defending champions with an outstanding team effort as senior Jeremy Kendle tallied 21 points to lead six Bellarmine players in double figures.
 
"Wow," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "I am so proud of their performance."  The Knights coach also lauded tonight's opponent.  "They return four starters off a team that won 29 games last season.  The score is not  indicative of how good this team is."

The Knights broke open a tight game as they closed the first half with an 11-3 spurt to take a 47-37 advantage into the locker room.  In the second half Bellarmine slowly extended their lead to as many as 33 before the Yellowjackets closed to within 24 in waning moments of the game.
 
Bellarmine played all facets of the game well as they shot 53 percent on the night, including 55.6 percent  from beyond the 3-point arc.  The Knights also held a whopping 52-29 advantage in rebounds, while limiting the Yellow Jackets to just 43.1 percent shooting.

Coach Davenport was also pleased with the inside play of the Knights, particurly in the second half and particularly the play of Nick Holmes.  "We challenged Nick before the game, and he responded with 13 points and 10 rebounds in just 26 minutes."  Davenport also praised the "Red" practice team and singled out reserves Aaron Robison and Forrest Smallwood. "They give us every ounce of energy they have every day," he said.
 
Joining Kendle and Holmes in double figures were Braydon Hobbs (13), Chris Dowe (14), Justin Benedetti (15), and Luke Sprague (14). 

West Virgina State (3-1) was led by Josh "Cookie" Miller, whose 29 points equalled his season average.