LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine men’s basketball team jumped out to a five-point halftime lead Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center, but could not sustain a strong second half run by Louisville as they fell 73-68.

The Cardinals (4-3) cashed in 16 of their 25 field goals and all 16 of their free throws in the second half to outscore the Knights by 10 en route to the win. UofL took the lead with 14:05 left to play and led by as many as 12. The Knights (2-6) were able to cut the margin to two three times, but were unable to pull even.

Bellarmine was without sophomore guard and leading scorer Ben Johnson (13.0 ppg), who sustained an injury late Sunday in the contest at West Virginia.

Senior guard Bash Wieland and senior guard Garrett Tipton each dropped in 18 points on six field goals. The 18 points is a new career high for Wieland and a season high for Tipton. Tipton was a solid 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, but the rest of the Knights combined to go just 2-for-12 from three.

Senior guard Alec Pfriem dropped in a season-high 14 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Peter Suder dished out a team-high five assists.

Louisville’s Skyy Clark led all scorers with 21 points. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield fell one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Bellarmine was not able to replicate the magic that saw them walk out of downtown Louisville as one-point winners in this same matchup last season. They shot 48.8 percent in last year’s victory, but just 37.9 percent on Wednesday night.

BU hits the road once again this weekend. The Knights take the floor next at Ball State at 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday.