KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The No. 1 Bellarmine Knights used a 16-4 run in the first half to establish a double-digit lead then held off a determined Rockhurst team to win 82-71 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse.
 
While the Knights found themselves outshot for the first time this season, the host Hawks could not contain Bellarmine's Adam Eberhard.  The All-American poured in a career-high 33 points to eclipse 1,600 career points and move into eighth on the all-time Bellarmine scoring list with 1,625. In today's contest, the 6-8 senior hit 11 of 16 shots and drained all 10 of his free throw attempts.

"That was a tough, tough game," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport. "It was very, very physical, but it was physical both ways, so I'm not making any judgment there, but you have to adjust to that, so that's on us. To give up 59 percent shooting in the second half and to get outscored in the paint 46-26, is not acceptable."
 
One of the brightest spots for the Knights, Davenport said was the play of Tyler Jenkins, who finished with 13 points and four assists. "You've got a guy who one year ago today never knew he was going to play another college basketball game in his life with shoulder surgery and ulcerative colitis and who has struggled from the line, but has worked incredibly hard.  They (Rockhurst coaches and players) are yelling, 'Foul him,' and I could take him out of the game, but I appreciate his loyalty and leadership so much, and he goes in there and goes nine for 11 from the line."
 
Other outstanding contributions were turned in by Chivarsky Corbett, who posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Parker Chitty, who Davenport said had his best game of the season with four assists, no turnovers and two steals to go along with three points. Daniel Ramser, who was saddled with foul trouble much of the game, handed out a game-high five assists for the Knights.
 
From the opening tip, the game was a hard-fought affair with neither team owning more than a one-possession lead over the first 10 minutes of the game. Then, with 8:31 remaining in the first half, Eberhard converted a jumper to start a 16-4 run that was helped along by Rockhurst missing two front ends of one-and-one free throw opportunities.
 
The run gave Bellarmine a 30-17 lead, and although the Hawks answered with their own 6-0 run, the Knights made it to halftime with an 11-point cushion at 36-25.
 
After the break, Eberhard drained a jumper on Bellarmine's first possession to extend the lead to 13.  Quinton Curry responded for Rockhurst with a conventional 3-point play to get the Hawks within 10 at 38-28, but that would be as close as the host team would come in the second period.

Bellarmine scored the next seven points to take control of the game, and when Chitty's trifecta swished through the bucket at the 11:53 mark, the Knights owned the game's largest lead at 57-37.
 
The Hawks used a strong interior game to keep the Knights from running away with the game and closed to within 11 points on several occasions, but Bellarmine was able to secure the victory with an outstanding team performance at the free throw line, hitting 28 of 32 for the game and 19 off 22 in the second half.
 
The Hawks' strong inside play led to a 51.7 percent shooting night, and they were just the third team this season to hold Bellarmine below 50 percent as the Knights hit just 46.2 percent of their field goals.  However, the Knights held a distinct advantage from the perimeter, making 6-of-14 treys while holding Rockhurst to just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.
 
Bellarmine also lost the rebounding battle for the first time since its season opener against Saginaw Valley as the Hawks owned a 33-28 advantage on the glass and outscored BU 12-6 in second chance points.
 
The Knights, however, made up that discrepancy in the turnover department.  Bellarmine committed just six turnovers in the game while coming up with seven steals and forcing Rockhurst into 11 miscues and won the points off turnovers stat 15-8.
 
Bellarmine extends the best start in school history to 16 games without a loss while improving to 7-0 in GLVC play. Rockhust slips to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
 
The Knights return to action on Thursday when they host Drury University in a game that will be part of the NCAA Division II's "2018-19 Basketball Showcase," meaning the game will be shown to a national audience through the NCAA's social media platforms.  Knights Nation, the Bellarmine pep club, is asking fans to wear black to the game for a "Black Out." Game time scheduled for 8:05 p.m.
 
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