Rockhurst could not overcome Bellarmine's strong interior game in falling to the 13th-ranked Knights, 80-71, Thursday night in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Hawks (7-5, 1-3 GLVC) were outscored in the paint (28-18) and out-rebounded (38-24) by the Knights. Bellarmine also made nine more free throws (22-13) than the Hawks.

Rockhurst only trailed by two points, 64-62, at the 4:21 mark after scoring nine unanswered points. The Hawks missed six consecutive free throws over the next three minutes as the Knights went on an 11-3 run to take a 75-65 lead with 52 seconds left.

"I thought we battled hard all night long," said Rockhurst coach Drew Diener. "We had some great spurts throughout the game, but couldn't stop them enough. We had some defensive breakdowns that we can avoid. Offensively, we can be more consistent."

Kaleb Warner led the Hawks with 21 points and five rebounds. Warner made six-of-16 field goals, including four-of-13 from behind the 3-point line, and was five-of-nine at the foul line.

Malachi Nix posted 12 points and six assists. Alex Hagan collected nine points and seven rebounds after missing the last eight games with an injury. Travis House added eight points.

Rockhurst shot 47.9 percent from the field (23 of 48) and 50.0 percent on the free-throw line (13 of 26). Bellarmine made 25-of-50 field goals (50.0 percent) and 22-of-30 free throws (73.3 percent). Five players scored in double figures for the Knights.

The Hawks next play at Southern Indiana on Saturday afternoon.