Box Score KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Sparked by a 26-5 run to open the second half, the No. 2 Bellarmine University Knights rolled to a 92-64 victory over the homestanding Rockhurst University Hawks on Sunday afternoon  in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Mason-Halpin Field House.

In the opening 20 minutes, the Knights—by their standards—turned in a lackluster performance shooting just 46.4 percent while forcing just two Rockhurst turnovers.  After the break, however, Bellarmine overwhelmed the Hawks to pull out an easy victory.

The Knights owned a slim 39-36 halftime lead, and Rockhurst climbed to within two when B.J. Dunbar canned a jumper to make it 42-40 at the 18:14 mark.  Bellarmine, however, responded with a 16-0 run over the next 3:48 to blow the game open.  The Knights' biggest lead of 29 points came at the 10:43 mark when Rusty Troutman nailed a triple to stake Bellarmine to a 72-43 advantage.

"We talk all the time about deflections (being an indicator of effort)," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "In the first half we had 10, and by the under 10 timeout of the second half we were already at 22." He added, "This was a great team effort.  We were back on our game with 19 assists and just nine turnovers."

Bellarmine's Keisten Jones led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Jake Thelen turned in another solid effort with 18 points, going 5-of-6 from the field and 8-of-9 from the line.  Troutman came off the bench to pour in 15 points and pull down six rebounds.

"I was very happy with everybody," Davenport said, indicating he was pleased that 14 different players saw action and made solid contributions. "These guys practice their butts off every day.  I mean they just play so hard. Competition in practice is incredible."

Rockhurst (4-6, 0-3 GLVC) was led by Russell Burns with 17 points as the Knights held leading scorer Brandon McCann to just four points—all from the free throw line.  Bellarmine's Tanner Gibson drew the defensive assignment on McCann and he was relieved by Vance Hall and Corbin Maynard.

Bellarmine (10-0, 2-0 GLVC) finished the game hitting 53.4 percent of their shots after scorching the nets for 60 percent shooting in the second half.  Meanwhile, the BU defense held Rockhurst to just 36.4 percent shooting in the second half and 40.9 percent overall.  The Knights also controlled the backboards, owning a 44-29 advantage in rebounding.

The Knights' 10-0 start to the season ties last year's squad for the second best start in school history.  The 2008-09 squad won their first 14 games.

Next up for Bellarmine is a showdown with No. 3 Drury on Thursday in Knights Hall at 8 p.m.  The Panthers, who defeated No. 16 Indianapolis 83-69 today, are the defending national champions and the preseason favorites to win the GLVC West Division.  They have opened the year 11-0.

BOX SCORE (HTM)