LOUISVILLE, Ky.—With 9:35 remaining in the first half, the game was tied 15-15, but when the horn sounded to end the first half, the host Bellarmine Knights had buried the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals with a 34-14 run to take 49-29 halftime lead. 
 
The Knights kept the accelerator to the floor after halftime and built a 34-point lead en route to dispatching the visitors 97-68 in the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge at Knights Hall on Saturday evening in Knights Hall.
 
Bellarmine found a deft shooting touch thanks to crisp ball movement and ended the game converting 55.2 percent from the floor while limiting the Cardinals to 42.3 percent.
 
Senior Ben Weyer poured in 23 points to lead the Knights, and Alex Cook chipped in 20 points with Dylan Penn recording a career-high 17.
 
Despite the solid shooting and scoring highlights, Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport was proud of his team's rebounding as the Knights won the battle of the backboard 49-21.  "After the game, I wrote one statistic on the board, and that was second chance points," which the Knights won 18-2.
 
The victory gave Davenport career win 346, which ties Bellarmine coaching legend Joe Reibel for the most in school history.  "There's not a bigger fan of Joe Reibel than me," said Davenport.  "Coach Reibel is one of the greatest coaches ever in the state of Kentucky…that's not even debatable."
 
For the second night in a row, Davenport was able to clear his bench, playing 15 players, all of whom logged at least three and a half minutes. Of the 15 who got in, 12 found their way into the scoring column, 13 claimed at least one rebound, and 10 found their way into the scorebook with at least one assist as the Knights totaled 17 on the night.
 
Bellarmine goes to 2-0 on the early season, and SVSU slips to 0-2 after dropping a 76-72 decision to UIndy on Friday.
 
The Knights extend their record to 11-1 in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge, which Bellarmine has played in for six straight years.
 
Bellarmine returns to action on Wednesday when the Knights host Kentucky Wesleyan in a 7 p.m. contest in Knights Hall.
 
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