MURRAY, Ky. – Brain Waddell scored a career-high 25 points and Jack Karasinski dropped in 21, but Bellarmine fell at Murray State 81-68 on Saturday.
 
Bellarmine (4-5) was denied their first four-game winning streak since January 2022 as Murray State (7-4) never trailed inside the CFSB Center.
 
Waddell and Karasinski, the ASUN's top two field goal percentage leaders, combined to go 16-for-23 (.696) from the field. Still, the rest of the Knights went 9-for-26 (.346), which would not be enough to keep up with the Racers as they outscored Bellarmine 33-18 beyond the arc.
 
MSU raced out to an early 24-9 lead, at one point hitting eight of 10 shots. Down 15, the Knights battled back to within nine at 36-27 after a three by Jack Karasinski with 5:30 left, but the Racers would control the remainder of the first stanza and carry a 47-34 lead into the break.
 
Waddell (14 points) and Karasinski (10 points) combined for 24 of the Knights' 34 first-half points.
 
Murray State would build their largest lead to 23 at 74-51, but Bellarmine would get back to within 12 after an 11-0 run that included a 5-for-5 stretch from the field and was capped by another Karasinski three. Still, the Racers would close the game playing nearly even with the Knights to earn the 81-68 victory.
 
Both teams shot well overall, with Murray State slightly better at 52.6 percent to Bellarmine's 51.0 percent.
 
Murray State won the rebound battle 35-18, led by Fred King's nine and JJ Traynor's six, while four Racers tallied double-digit points: Traynor (17), Roman Domon (16), Javon Jackson (14) and King (12).
 
The Knights are now 5-13 against Division I teams from Kentucky since transitioning for the 2020-21 season.
 
Bellarmine returns to action next Saturday when they host another in-state foe, Northern Kentucky, at 2 p.m. ET in Knights Hall.
 
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