ROLLA, Mo.--The No. 2 Bellarmine University men's basketball team fought off a challenge from Missouri S&T to record an 87-73 victory this afternoon in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Billy Key Court.

The Knights improved to 21-1 on the season and ran their perfect GLVC record to 14-0. The Miners fell to 4-17, 2-12. 

Missouri S&T turned in a gutty performance and kept it close over the first 20 minutes by hitting seven of 10 3-point field goal attempts.  Bellarmine countered with a strong first half performance by Luke Sprague,  who had 15 points on five of six shooting in the opening period.

In the second half, the scrappy S&T  team kept the game within range until Jeremy Kendle and Braydon Hobbs hit back to back treys to give the Knights an 18-point cushion with just 1:19 remaining.

"This was a super effort on Super Bowl Sunday," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "If you're not ready to play on all cylinders, this (S&T) team will beat you."

Davenport, who has won a Kentucky High School State title and coached in the NCAA Final Four at the University of Louisville, reflected on the rarity of winning 21 of  22 games.  "I've never been 21 and one in my life at any level," he said. "To be 14-0 and 8-0 on the road in this league is unbelievable."

In addition to Sprague, who finished with 20 points, Bellarmine got solid performances all over the court. Kendle pitched in 17 points and collected a career high nine assists.  Justin Benedetti and Hobbs also reached double digits with 16 and 13 points respectively.  

Missouri S&T was led by Tommy Pelczynski and Bryce Foster, who both totaled 20 points on the day.

Both teams shot the ball well, with Bellarmine--ranked second in the country in field goal percentage--making 30 of 55 shots for 54.5 percent.  The Miners finished with a 47.4 shooting percentage (27-57), but after hitting 70 percent of their treys in the first half, Bellarmine held the home team to just 3-13 from beyond the arc in the second period.

Bellarmine won the battle of the backboards 32-26 with excellent team rebounding.  Three different Knights grabbed five rebounds, and three more teammates had four rebounds.

The Knights now get six days to prepare for a road game at GLVC rival Northern Kentucky, who won 72-69 today on a last second 3-ball to defeat Drury on the road.  The Bellarmine-Northern Kentucky men's game on Saturday is set to tip at 8 p.m. at the Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights.

BOX SCORE