OWENSBORO, Ky.—The No. 2 Bellarmine University men's basketball team found themselves down late in the second half to the No. 11 Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers at the Sportscenter but rallied for a 78-75 victory in their Great Lakes Valley Conference opener.

Reigning GLVC Player of the Week Jeremy Kendle showed why he earned the honor by racking up 26 points including draining a big three pointer as the shot clock was winding down and just 18 seconds on the game clock.

In describing the shot, Kendle said, “Coach (Davenport) wanted me to pass the ball, but by the time I took a couple of dribbles, I had to chuck it up there. Fortunately, it went in.”

The trey gave the Knights a six point lead, but Kentucky Wesleyan (5-1, 0-1) didn't give up as Cardell McFarland drained a three just seven seconds later to cut the lead in half.  Kendle was then fouled, and the Jeffersonville, Ind., native calmy drained both free throws.

McFarland then hit another three-pointer to pull within two, and the Knights quickly inbounded the ball, Braydon Hobbs was fouled with just one second remaining. Hobbs made one of two free throws to provide the final margin.

“Our seniors have given four years to this program and had never gotten a win over Kentucky Wesleyan in this facility, so I'm happy we got that done for them,” said Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport.

The Knights had three players crack double digits in scoring.  Joining Kendle were reserves Chris Dowe, who tallied 17 points on seven of 11 shooting, and freshman Keisten Jones, who had 10 points on four of five shooting.

Hobbs had another productive game while scoring just the three points.  The New Albany native registered six assists and recorded five steals in  36 minutes of action.

Wesleyan had the game-high scorer in McFarland, who netted 27 points. 

Both teams shot the ball well with the Knights burning the nets for 56 percent and the Panthers also hitting at a better than 50 percent clip at 52.1 percent.  The Knights shook off their 3-point shooting woes in the first half, when they were just one of seven, to finish at 44.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc thanks to 7-11 three point shooting in the second half.

Bellarmine (4-0, 1-0 GLVC) returns to the hardwood on Saturday night as they face another tough road conference game at No. 22 Southern Indiana. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at the Physical Activities Center on USI's campus.

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