LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 2 Bellarmine University men's basketball team stormed out to a 22-1 lead in the first eight minutes of their contest on Saturday against Quincy University, and cruised to a 79-57 victory in front of 1,937 fans at Knights Hall.

Bellarmine built the early advantage off a flurry of three pointers by Braydon Hobbs, Justin Benedetti, and Jeremy Kendle. Luke Sprague added the exclamation point by connecting from long range on two consecutive possessions just before the 16 minute mark.

The game was a rematch of last year's NCAA Division II Regional Semifinal, in which Quincy defeated Bellarmine 66-61 in Owensboro, Ky., and ended the Knights' season.

The Knights (19-1, 12-0 GLVC) led by as many as 28 in the first frame when Jacob Jenkins' three-pointer with four seconds left sent the home team to the locker room with a 42-18 advantage. Bellarmine shot 52 percent from the field, and a staggering 56 percent from behind the arc for the half.

“Our guys played well together on both ends of the court, but our defense set the tone for the entire game,” Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport said. “Good defense can ultimately create great offense, and that is what we did tonight.”

BU increased the lead to 32 points, the largest margin of the game, with 11:21 remaining as Keisten Jones connected from long-range off a pass by Hobbs, whose four assists were a game high. The Hawks cut their deficit to 21 points late in the game, but the outcome had already been determined.

“We were trying to slow the game down, but they were a very good basketball team,” Quincy Head Coach Marty Bell said. “They (Bellarmine) are awfully good for our region, and we've seen just about everybody in the conference.”

Chris Dowe had a game-high 15 points off 6-11 shooting from the field, and tied a season-high with seven rebounds.
Sprague and Hobbs finished the game with 13 points apiece, while Kendle added 11 to round out the double-digit scoring performances.

Guard Tyler Thompson led the Quincy attack with 12 points, while fellow guard Courtney Belger pulled down seven rebounds to pace the Hawks (11-9, 4-8 GLVC).

Bellarmine returns to action on Thursday for a matchup at Maryville University. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in St. Louis.

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