By GREG MENGELT

It’s safe to say Bellarmine knows what it’s like to play against the nation’s best teams.

For the third time this season, the Knights faced one of the current top 3 — Gonzaga, UCLA and Purdue — in the latest college basketball polls. On Monday, it was UCLA that handed Bellarmine a 75-62 defeat. The Knights are now 0-5.

The game was part of the Empire Classic at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After losses to Gonzaga and UCLA, the Knights will face Central Michigan (1-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the final round in Vegas. That game can be seen on ESPN Plus.

Senior guard Dylan Penn led Bellarmine with 19 pints, 8 rebounds and 6 assists Monday. Former Providence star Juston Betz contributed 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals for Bellarmine, which was a perfect 13 of 13 at the line in the loss.

UCLA (5-0) was led by freshman guard Peyton Watson, who went 9 for 12 with a career-high 19 points for the Bruins, who assisted on 23 of their 33 buckets. All-American candidate Johnny Juzang had 13 points and 4 assists.

The No. 2 Bruins will take on No. 1 Gonzaga at 10 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. It’s the 43rd time No. 1 has faced No. 2. The last time was No. 2 Kentucky’s 69-62 win over No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 5, 2019. The last time UCLA played in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game was Jan. 19, 1974 when the Bruins beat No. 1 Notre Dame 94-75. Gonzaga has never participated in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 contest.