HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- Bellarmine men's basketball went blow-for-blow with the Norse of Northern Kentucky for 28 minutes, but two late NKU runs ended up being the difference, as the Knights suffered an 86-70 road loss at the hands of their in-state opponent and former Great Lakes Valley Conference rival.  With the loss, the Knights drop to 2-6 on the year.

Ben Johnson got things started offensively for the Knights, hitting two three-pointers to help give Bellarmine an early 8-2 lead.  NKU responded with a 5-0 spurt which Bellarmine quickly answered with a 5-0 run of their own as Jack Karasinski found Tyler Doyle for a layup in the paint and then got himself into the scoring column, hitting on another Knights three-pointer.  Bellarmine's offense then began to stagnate, allowing the Norse to tie the game with a 6-0 run over a 4:21 span.  Doyle got the offense going again, getting the lead back with a converted and-one opportunity.  The Norse answered with a 7-2 run before Dylan Branson converted another and-one to put Bellarmine back up 21-20.  After another 6-0 Norse run, the two teams traded blows with NKU maintaining a slim lead and ultimately taking a 34-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Doyle converted another and-one early in the second half to give the Knights a 39-38 lead and after a Norse bucket, Billy Smith connected on a three-pointer to give Bellarmine a 42-40 advantage.  NKU responded again with back-to-back threes before Myles Watkins converted on yet another Bellarmine and-one opportunity to make it a one-point game.  Following another exchange of baskets that left NKU with a 51-50 lead, the Norse began to pull away, using a 17-3 run to take their biggest lead of the evening at 68-53.  Bellarmine fought back with an 8-2 run to cut the lead back down to single digits, but were unable to get any closer, as a 16-9 NKU run put the game away.

Doyle and Karasinski led the Knights on offense with 15 points apiece.  Doyle's 15 points and six made shots were both career-highs.  Doyle and Watkins led the team with five rebounds each, which set new career-highs for both of them.  Watkins also set a new career-high with a team-leading two steals.  Smith scored in double figures for the sixth consecutive game with 10 points.  Johnson scored in double figures for the sixth time in eight games this season, posting 12 points.  He and Karasinski led the Knights with three made three-pointers each, with Karasinski tying his career-high in made three-pointers.  Doyle, Smith, and Johnson each led the Knights with four assists apiece.  Kenyon Goodin contributed with six points, matching his career-high.

As a team, Bellarmine was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and recorded assists on 16 of their 24 made baskets.

Up next, the Knights will head back on the road to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts on Wednesday, December 4.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7 PM.

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