Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The  No. 5 Bellarmine University men's basketball team rolled to a 92-69 victory over Philander Smith College tonight at the University of Southern Indiana's Physical Activities Center (PAC) in the opening game of the 6^th Annual Bill Joergens Memorial Classic.

The Knights (3-0) opened up a 20-point lead less than 14 minutes into the game and by and large maintained that lead until the final horn.  All 15 players that suited up for the Knights saw action and 14 hit the scoring column, led by reigning GLVC Player of the Week Vance Hall with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting including 6-of-8 from 3-point range.

Conversely, only five Philander Smith (4-3) players scored.  Alvin Nance poured in 32 points and Clayton Busby added 21 as the Panther duo accounted for 76.8 percent of the PSC scoring.

The Knights held a 50-32 halftime lead and extended the lead to as many as 26 in the second half before settling for the 23-point victory.

“The game got a little erratic in the second half,” said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport, “but that was the first time we'd played with a lead,” pointing out the Knights had faced deficits in both exhibitions and the first two regular season games.

Davenport added that this team continues to get better.  “There are eight guys in that locker room who are learning to play the way we play,” he said. “What we stressed after the game is that if those  seven guys who've been through this program reach out and keep encouraging and teaching and leading then we'll get there much quicker than the four coaches doing it.”

Bellarmine enjoyed its best shooting game of the year as the Knights hit on 54.8 percent of their shots, which includes a 13-of-28 night (46.4%) from beyond the arc.  Their defensive effort was solid as well, holding Philander Smith to just 36.2 percent shooting.  Bellarmine also won the battle of the backboards, outrebounding the Panthers 41-29.

The lopsided victory afforded Bellarmine the opportunity to spread the playing time around with 10 players logging 11 minutes or more. 

One of the best stat lines of the night belonged to Jelani Johnson, who led the team in assists with four and was just one short of his career high with 10 points.  Chris Dowe, whose 26 minutes were the most of any Knight, contributed 10 points, a game-high eight rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and a steal.  Every Knight posted positive statistics as Michael Parrish--the lone player not to tally a point—hit the stats page with two assists in three minutes of action.

Spreading the minutes should prove beneficial for the Knights as they have a short turnaround before they face Virginia-Wise tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. (EST) in the second round of the Joergens Memorial Classic.

BOX SCORE