MUNCIE, Ind. – The Bellarmine University men's basketball team fell to Ball State on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena, 67-58.

The Cardinals (6-2) never trailed and led by as many as 14. They took a 12-point lead into the locker room at the break and were able to fend off several Bellarmine runs to get within six in the second half. The Knights (2-7), however, were unable to trim the margin any closer.

The teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field and Bellarmine tallied one more field goal, but Ball State's seven 3-pointers provided the separation. The Knights never got going from beyond the arc, shooting just 18.8% (3-for-16) from three.

Junior forward Langdon Hatton led BU with a career-high 19 points. He also became the first Knight to block multiple shots in a game this season. Senior guard Bash Wieland scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, starting once again in Ben Johnson's absence.

Basheer Johnson led the way for BSU, notching his second double-double in his last three games with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Cardinals also got double-digit scoring efforts from Jalin Anderson (16), Ben Hendriks (11) and John Hardin (Ky.) High School product Mickey Pearson Jr. (10).

It will be a quick turnaround for Bellarmine as the Knights return to action at 11 a.m. (ET) Monday at Freedom Hall against Boyce of the National Christian College Athletic Association DII Mideast region. It will be the first of two Inspiration Day tipoffs next week. The second will be Thursday morning against Berea of the NCAA DIII Collegiate Conference of the South. Students from local schools will be in attendance at both games to support the Knights.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.