OWENSBORO, Ky.-—The No. 1 Bellarmine University Knights went into the Owensboro Sportscenter and wrestled away an 80-68 victory from the No. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers in a game that featured the two highest ranked Great Lakes Valley Conference teams.

Jeremy Kendle, last season's GLVC Player of the Year, poured in 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead all scorers.  Braydon Hobbs, who along with Kendle was a preseason All-America selection, chipped in with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. 

Kentucky Wesleyan's preseason All-America Anthony Young led the Panthers with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

After the host Panthers jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead, the Knights went on a 7-0 run capped by a Keisten Jones breakaway dunk to give BU a 9-8 lead.  The two NCAA DII powerhouses battled the remainder of the half with the Knights pulling out to a seven point lead with 2:15 remaining.   The Panthers dug in and cut it to three before Hobbs nailed a deep three at the buzzer to give the Knights a 42-36 halftime bulge.

After the break, Bellarmine extended the lead to nine, but the Panthers fought back to take a four point lead, 56-52 at the 13:41 mark. Kendle scored four in row for the Knights to tie it.  After the teams traded 3-point plays, Bellarmine went on a 12-0 run to take command of the game.

Coming down the stretch, the Knights did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball. After committing 10 turnovers in the game's first 25 minutes, Bellarmine coughed it up just once in the final 15 minutes.

Bellarmine again had another stellar shooting night finishing 30-51 from the floor for 58.8 percent.  The defense, which was active all night, limited the Panthers to just 40 percent. 

“It was two great basketball teams competing as hard as they can,” said Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport. “ We held them to 40 percent shooting and 33.3 from 3-point range after they made 46 in the first half, and we made 58.8 (percent). We did a tremendous job in an unbelievable environment for college basketball.  It was a great effort, and it took everybody on this team.”

He added, "Our players played with tremendous poise.  Their fundamentals coming down the stretch were tremendous.”

The win, Bellarmine's 13^th in a row, gets the Knights to 18-1 on the season with a 10-1 conference mark, giving them a 2-game lead over KWC, Indianapolis and Southern Indiana, who are all 8-3.

The Panthers, who held the No. 1 ranking a week ago  suffered their second straight home loss and now stand 16-3 overall.

Next up for the Knights is a tough road trip to face Wisconsin-Parkside on Thursday followed by a Saturday night game at Lewis.

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