MOREHEAD, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights turned in a valiant second half comeback but fell short as the host Morehead State Eagles held on for a 62-55 victory in Johnson Arena on Saturday night.
 
Bellarmine suffered an off-shooting night, making just 33.3 percent from the field, and although the Knights' defense held the Eagles to just 29.4 percent shooting, Morehead made up for that by sinking five more three-pointers and outscoring Bellarmine 24-12 at the free throw line.
 
Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport pointed to the 47-33 rebounding advantage that the Eagles held as a major factor in the game.  "We got dominated on the backboard," he said. "Our goal was to rebound 75 percent…they missed 35 shots and got 16 of them back. In my opinion that's the game."
 
The game was tight in the early going as the Knights held Morehead without a field goal until the 13:19 mark of the first half, and Bellarmine held a one-point lead at the 8-minute media timeout.  However, the Eagles came out of the timeout and went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game.  They outscored Bellarmine 15-2 in the final two segments of the first half and led 28-16 at the break.
 
In the second half, the Knights finally started to see some shots fall, and the visitors crept within four points with 1:57 remaining.  After a steal by Bellarmine's Bash Wieland, the Knights had a golden opportunity to make it a one-possession game but missed four shots on their next trip down the floor.  From there, Bellarmine was forced to foul, and the Eagles were able to ice the game at the free throw line.
 
Knights freshman Peter Suder had a big night, leading all scorers with 24 points, but he was the lone double-figure scorer for Bellarmine.  Morehead had a much more balanced attack with four players reaching double digits led by Jake Wolfe's 14.
 
Bellarmine returns to action on Monday night as the Knights host Campbellsville University-Harrodsburg at 6 p.m. in Knights Hall.  No tickets will be sold for the game that was moved from Freedom Hall due to a scheduling conflict with the venue, but Bellarmine students, faculty and staff will be admitted by showing a valid Bellarmine ID.  Season tickets holders may also get general admission tickets by picking them up at Knights Hall between 12 and 3 p.m. on Sunday.