BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bellarmine University men's basketball team used tough first-half defense, nearly unstoppable second-half offense and overall blazing shooting from beyond the arc to run away from Bowling Green for an 85-67 victory Friday night at the Stroh Center.

Bellarmine (1-3) capped a four-game road stretch to start the season in impressive fashion by shooting 64.7 percent from the 3-point line after sinking 11 of its 17 shots from deep against Bowling Green (2-2). The Knights didn't hit at that same rate inside the arc, but that hardly mattered after shooting 58.3 percent overall, including a lethal 72 percent in the second half.

Sophomore guard Ben Johnson led four scorers in double figures with 20 points behind 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Billy Smith hit 6-of-7 shots, including a pair of triples and multiple and-1s, while racking up 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Senior guard Alec Pfriem knocked down three of his four 3-point tries as he registered 13 points.

Sophomore guard Peter Suder collected 12 points and four assists, while senior guard Bash Wieland amassed nine rebounds. The Knights finished with a 35-31 edge on the boards and limited Bowling Green to 37.7 percent shooting.

The first half was mostly a defensive battle, although Bellarmine did manage to hit six 3-pointers in building a 29-21 lead. By contrast, there was plenty of offense after the break, with the Knights outscoring the Falcons 56-46 in the second stanza.

Suder muscled in a layup to stake Bellarmine to a double-digit lead to open the second half. Bowling Green never got closer than six, and the Knights led comfortably behind a 10-0 run started by a traditional three-point play by Smith and capped by a Pfriem trifecta.

Johnson nailed a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 20 with 8:35 left. Bowling Green got within 11 a couple times, but after the latter occasion, Johnson buried consecutive 3s off feeds from Wieland to seal up the Knights' first win.

Bellarmine will welcome Morehead State to Freedom Hall at 6:30 p.m. (ET) Monday in its home opener.

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