LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine men's basketball dropped their home opener in their return to Knights Hall Saturday afternoon. VMI walked out of the Highlands arena with a 76-71 win in a game where each team controlled one on the halves.
 
The Keydets, however, built a bigger margin in their winning half, taking the first 20 minutes 43-29, while the Knights outscored their opponents by just nine in the second, 42-33.
 
Bellarmine (0-2, 0-0 ASUN) raced out to a 20-13 lead behind eight early points by Jack Karasinski in his home debut after transferring from William & Mary. From the 9:20 mark in the first half, VMI (2-0, 0-0 SoCon) rattled off a 30-9 run that included five threes to take a 14-point lead into the locker room.
 
In the second stanza, a persistent Knights team scratched and clawed their way back and got within three points on a Karasinski dunk with 3:08 left and again with 41 seconds left on a Dylan Branson free throw. A missed three on Bellarmine's final possession, however, sealed the deal for the Keydets.
 
Karasinski finished with a game-high 24 points while Branson added 12 points with six rebounds and six assists.
 
Augustinas Kiudulas led the way for VMI with 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
Bellarmine gets another shot at their first win Wednesday at Knights Hall against their old GLVC rival Southern Indiana. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
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