By GREG MENGELT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bellarmine led 12-11 early against host West Virginia, but the Mountaineers pulled away for a 74-55 win over the Knights at WVU Coliseum on Tuesday evening.

The Knights stayed within 37-30 at halftime before West Virginia’s early second-half spurt put Bellarmine (2-6) away. Bellarmine has now faced No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 5 UCLA and now 6-1 West Virginia early in its second Division I season.

Providence graduate and Bellarmine senior Juston Betz finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds and a steal in the loss, which ended the Knights’ 2-game winning streak. Betz was 5 for 11 from the field and 3 of his 7 rebounds were on the offensive end.

Bellarmine was led by Dylan Penn. The senior guard from Evansville scored 16 points, one of four Knights to score at least 10 points. Freshman Curt Hopf of Barr-Reeve finished with 12 points and Betz and senior C.J. Fleming had 10 apiece.

West Virginia’s Taz Sherman led all scorers with 18 points. The Mountaineer bench outscored Bellarmine’s 28-7.

The Knights will face three non-Division I teams the next three games. They host Defiance (1-4) at 3 p.m. Sunday. That game will be played at Freedom Hall and can be seen on ESPN Plus.