NKU saw its five-game winning streak snapped Thursday night.
Box score
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jeremy Kendle scored 22 points Thursday night as No. 2 Bellarmine posted an 85-74 win against Northern Kentucky University in Knights Hall.
Nick Holmes added 13 points and seven rebounds for Bellarmine, which is 17-1 overall, 10-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Bellarmine shot 51.7 percent from the field and snapped NKU's five-game winning streak.
Josh Tabb led NKU (13-4 overall, 6-3 GLVC) with 14 points, while teammates
Bobby Shannon and
Malcolm Eleby each scored 13 points. Eleby also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Bellarmine jumped out to a 14-point lead (38-24) in the first half, but NKU used an 18-5 run to pull within 43-42 at the break.
Chris Knight hit a jumper midway through the second half to bring NKU within a point at 59-58, but Bellarmine responded with a 14-5 run to extend its lead to 73-63 with 6:37 remaining.
NKU cut the Bellarmine lead to 76-70 with 3:08 left when Eleby made one of two free throws, but the Knights scored nine of the next 11 points to seal the win. Justin Benedetti added 12 points for Bellarmine, while Chris Dowe scored 11 off the bench.
Braydon Hobbs scored 11 points and dished out eight assists for Bellarmine, which has beaten NKU in five of the past six meetings. NKU still holds a 43-33 lead in the all-time series against Bellarmine.
Knight finished with nine points for NKU, while teammate
Erik Stenger added eight points and six rebounds. The Norse shot 47.5 percent from the field and were 7-for-22 from 3-point range.
NKU plays at No. 17 Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday to conclude its three-game road trip.
