LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Behind great performances from guards Chris Dowe and Jeremy Kendle, the No. 6 Bellarmine University men's basketball team posted a 91-79 victory over the visiting St. Catharine Patriots tonight in the final game of the Fern Valley Hotel Classic in Knights Hall.

Kendle poured in a game-high 29 points connecting on 8-of-11 field goal shooting and 10-of-12 charity tosses.  The junior from Jeffersonville also yanked down nine rebounds and dished off five assists. 
Meanwhile, backcourt mate Dowe posted a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 11 boards.

“Those guys (Kendle and Dowe) are great players, and they had a great game,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport.  “This was a difficult game for us because they (St. Catharine) are very athletic at every position.”

The Knights opened up a quick 4-0 lead, but the Patriots rebounded to come back and take a 7-6 lead and the teams traded leads over the next 10 minutes until Keisten Jones nailed a 3-pointer at the 6:34 mark of the first period to put Bellarmine up for good. 

After Bellarmine extended the lead to eight, St. Catharine battled back to rip it to just two, but BU closed the first half on a 6-0 run in the final 1:39 to take a 49-41 lead at the half.

Bellarmine took its first double-digit lead on the first play of the second half on a layup by Dowe.  The Knights extended the lead to as many as 18 at the 8:02 mark.  The Patriots responded with a 14-5 run to close the gap to single digits, but the Knights stiffened defensively to close out the Patriots and earn the 12-point victory.

The Knights, who improved to 8-1 on the season, had all five starters in double figures got a big lift off the bench from freshman Corbin Maynard.  Although the DeSales graduate failed to hit the scoring column, he collected six deflections in just 13 minutes and drew three charges. Jelani Johnson also continued his solid play off the bench with five points and four rebounds.

The Patriots were led by DeShawn Mitchell and Brandon Johnson with 24 and 23 points respectively.
Despite playing its second straight game without starting center Richie Phares due to a concussion suffered in practice, Bellarmine outrebounded the taller Patriot squad by a margin of 39-28.

The Knights continued their good shooting, finishing 54.9 percent from the field.  For the year, Bellarmine is shooting 54.7 percent from the field on the year, which leads the GLVC.

Bellarmine now will have a full week of practice before traveling to West Virginia to face Wheeling Jesuit at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19.

BOX SCORE