LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Missouri S&T was able to hang in the game with the nation's ninth-ranked team for the better part of a half, but Bellarmine took control of the contest in the early part of the second half and ran out to an 87-57 win over the Miners Saturday afternoon.

 

The Knights used a 9-2 spurt to close the first half with a 12-point lead, then outscored S&T 13-5 over the first six minutes after the break to extend their lead to 20 and never looked back.

 

Missouri S&T got three-pointers on its first two possessions of the contest from Marquis Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter) and Adam Knollmeyer (Linn, Mo./Linn) to take a 6-5 lead, but that would end up being the only time in the game that the Miners would hold the advantage. Bellarmine's Chartrael Hall hit a three moments after the Knollmeyer basket to spark a 12-0 run that gave the Knights a 17-6 lead by the 14:26 mark.

 

Bellarmine held the double-figure advantage for the better part of the next seven minutes, but a three-pointer by Casey Noll (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) and a basket by Aaron Redecker (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) brought S&T to within six at 29-23 with 6:15 to go in the half.

 

After the Knights pushed their lead back to 12, the Miners ran off seven straight points – the last three on another trey by Noll – to cut the margin to five at the 2:58 mark. However, Bellarmine scored the next six points and closed the first half scoring on Luke Sprague's three-point to take a 44-32 lead to the dressing room.

 

The Knights then pushed their lead out to 20 in the early stages of the second half and eventually built their largest lead as the final margin of 30.

 

Knollmeyer was one of three Miners in double figures with a game-high 16 points, while Missouri S&T (7-10, 2-7 GLVC) also got 11 points from Justin Taylor (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) and 10 from Noll.   The Miners shot 46.3 percent on the day and outrebounded the Knights, but turned the ball over 25 times in the contest.

 

Bellarmine, who entered the game as the GLVC's second-best field goal shooting team, hit 52.9 percent of its shots Saturday. Sprague led a group of five players in double figures for the Knghts (16-2, 7-2 GLVC).

 

The Miners will host Kentucky Wesleyan Thursday in a 7:30 p.m. game at Billy Key Court.