RICHMOND, Va. -- Bellarmine Knights men's basketball fought valiantly but ultimately came up short, falling 84-65 on the road to the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams on Monday night to begin their 2024-25 campaign.

Four different Knights got into the scoring column with four made buckets to begin things on offense for Bellarmine, as the two teams battled closely in the first five and a half minutes.  The Rams then began to open things up with a 9-3 run to take a 19-11 lead going into the under 12 media timeout.  Buckets by Jack Karasinski and Ben Johnson made it a four-point game again before back-to-back VCU threes gave the Rams a double digit lead and a Bellarmine foul on the second three led to a converted four point play to make it 26-15 with 9:26 remaining in the first half.  

It then became a game of runs as the Knights were able to respond, going on an 8-0 run with six of those points coming from Dezmond McKinney.  The Rams subsequently answered with a 12-2 run to stretch their lead to 38-25.  Not going away, Bellarmine found another answer in the form of a 7-1 run that saw Dylan Branson score the first points of his Bellarmine career on a converted and-one opportunity, which was then followed up by a McKinney three-pointer.  The teams then traded baskets again to fill out most of the remainder of the half with VCU taking a 45-34 lead with 50 seconds to go.  Bellarmine ended the half on a high note as Johnson scored on a hook shot in the paint and McKinney came up with a steal on the other end, leading to another Johnson bucket to pull the Knights to within seven points going into the locker room at halftime.

McKinney scored the first basket of the second half to cut the deficit to five, but a 9-2 run stretched the lead back to double digits.  The Knights continued to battle, but were kept at arms' length by the Rams for the early portion of the period.  A Landin Hacker jumper cut it to single digits with 14:25 to go, but a 10-0 run gave VCU their biggest lead at 70-51 with just over ten minutes remaining.  Bellarmine made one final push, going on a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 12, but were unable to get any closer.  The Rams iced the game with a 7-0 run in response and were able to coast from that point forward.

McKinney and Johnson both led the Knights on offense, scoring 15 points apiece, with McKinney going 6-of-12 from the field and Johnson going 7-of-10 from the field.  McKinney scored all but two of his points in the first half while Johnson scored nine of his 15 points in the second half.  McKinney's 15 points was just one shy of his career high. 

Karasinski also hit double figures for the Knights, scoring 11 points, also just one shy of his career high, on 4-of-7 shooting.  Karasinski also led the Knights with two made three-pointers on three attempts.  Billy Smith contributed with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting.  Curt Hopf led the team on the glass with five rebounds.  He and Branson led the Knights in assists with three apiece.

Despite the loss, Bellarmine outscored VCU 42-28 in the paint and 10-8 in fast break points. 

Up next, the Knights will square off against another opponent from the state of Virginia, as Bellarmine returns home to host the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, November 9 at Knights Hall.  Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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