ST. LOUIS, MO. – Junior Brandon Marquardt scored a career-high 19 points and dished out six assists, but it wasn't enough as the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team came up short in an 88-78 loss to No. 3 ranked Bellarmine on Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
The Tritons shot 57.4 percent, including 61.5 percent in the second half, but was plagued by 17 turnovers, which resulted in 27 points on the other end for the Knights. Bellarmine turned the ball over just four times and shot 57.9 percent, including 63.3 percent in the second half.
 
UMSL falls to 16-9 overall, including 8-7 in the GLVC, while the Knights improve to 22-2 and 14-1 in the league.
 
Bellarmine closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 38-29 lead into halftime before the Tritons scored eight unanswered to open the second half to ignite a 15-6 run, capped with a three-pointer from Marquardt that knotted the score at 44-44 with 14:19 on the clock. However, Bellarmine followed with 10 straight over the next 2:19.
 
The Tritons later used a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 63-59 on a Marquardt jumper in the paint and also trailed by four at 65-61 on a pair of free throws by senior Aareon Smith with five minutes to play, but UMSL would get no closer as the Knights followed with a 10-2 run over the next2:08, extending their advantage to 75-63 at the 2:51 mark.
 
Smith tallied his 14^th double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, helping UMSL to a 30-24 rebounding advantage. Sophomore Alex Majewski scored 12 points in his first start of the season, while freshman Max Cook, also appearing in the starting line-up for the first time, dished out six assists.
 
Bellarmine was led by Chris Whitehead's 30 points, while Jake Thelen added 21.
 
UMSL is back in action next Thursday, hosting Quincy on Pack the Stands Night.