LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It was a back-and-forth battle Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall, but the Bellarmine men's basketball team ultimately fell to Evansville, 70-61.

The Knights jumped out to a 24-13 lead in the first half, but the Purple Aces rattled off a 15-4 run to take a 29-28 lead into the locker room.

It was nip-and-tuck in the second half, with the lead changing hands eight times. The Purple Aces ultimately took command with an 11-2 run in the final four minutes.

Junior forward Langdon Hatton recorded his third straight double-double. He finished with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting to lead all scorers and 11 rebounds.

Junior guard Dezmond McKinney earned his first start at Bellarmine and responded with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists. The 16 points set a new career high.

Bellarmine's leading scorer, Ben Johnson, added seven points in his return to action after missing the last four games with a hip injury.

Bellarmine was without senior guards Bash Wieland, who had surgery on his left pinkie finger last Friday, and Alec Pfriem, who is still recovering from a concussion.

The Purple Aces were able to come out with a win despite committing 10 turnovers, twice as many as Bellarmine. BU was able to outscore UE 14-6 in points off turnovers.

Yacine Toumi led the Purple Aces with 14 points.

Evansville's Ben Humrichous came into the game averaging 17.1 points while shooting 48.9% from three. The Knights were able to keep him in check from beyond the arc, holding him to zero three-point field goals on four attempts. He was, however, able to chip in 12 points, hitting four of five two-point field goals and four of five free throw attempts.

Bellarmine heads out west next week for a two-game road swing in Utah. They meet the Utah Utes Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m. ET and then head to Provo two days later to face the No. 18 BYU Cougars.

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