LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Things finally started to fall into place for the Bellarmine men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon as they took down Bowling Green 80-68 for their first win of the season.
 
Combined with a strong defensive effort to hold their opponent under 70 for the first time, Bellarmine (1-5) shot 50 percent from the field for the game and hit 5-of-10 threes in the second half to put away Bowling Green (2-4). The Knights outrebounded the Falcons 32-25, as well.
 
Billy Smith matched his career high with 18 points, going 8-for-11 from the field and 2-of-4 from three. Jack Karasinski returned after missing the Louisville game after having a minor procedure done early this week and scored 18 after going 6-for-9, 2-of-4 from three. Ben Johnson also scored double digits for the fourth time in six games with an even 10.
 
Curt Hopf pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to become the first Knight to reach double-digit rebounds this season.
 
The Knights were able to take command early and never truly feel threatened by the Falcons. Karasinski put Bellarmine ahead with 13:24 left in the first half with a three to make it 12-10 and the Knights never trailed from that point.
 
Johnson ended the first stanza with a long straightaway three with under three seconds left to send the Knights to the locker room with a 34-29 lead.
 
The Knights opened up a 13-point lead early in the second half with a 9-1 run that included Johnson's second of two threes on the game. A steal and layup by Smith made it 43-30.
 
From that point, the Falcons would close the gap to as little as four before the Knights stretched it back out to 16 with a pair of Branson free throws with 4:03 remaining before winning by the final margin of 12.
 
Bellarmine locked down Bowling Green leading scorer Marcus Johnson, routinely double-teaming him with each touch. He finished with nine points, well shy of his 19.8 average, and was just 1-of-3 from deep after entering the game averaging 6.8 three-point attempts.
 
Javontae Campbell and Derrick Butler each scored 21 to lead the Falcons.
 
Bellarmine returns to action Tuesday in Knights Hall against Midway at 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow the Knights on X, Instagram and Facebook.