After facing two top 25 teams last week, the Bellarmine men’s basketball team now must go on the road to square off against the hottest team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference-the Indianapolis Greyhounds-on Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. in Nicoson Hall.
Opening the season just 3-7, UIndy has strung together seven straight victories, the longest current win streak in the league. The Hounds’ last loss came back on Dec. 19, when they lost at Barry University, a team that is currently ranked 13th in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll.
The Greyhounds are 7-2 in conference play, which is tied with Wisconsin-Parkside for third place in the GLVC East. Indianapolis played two early league games, dropping close decisions at UWP (63-61) and Lewis (75-70).
In calendar year 2017, UIndy is 7-0 with all seven wins coming in league play. Most recently, the Hounds went on the road and recorded wins over McKendree and Illinois Springfield.
Individually for Indianapolis, 6-1 junior Eric Davidson leads the way in scoring with a 15.7 points per game average. He has eclipsed the 30-point plateau three times this season. Jesse Kempson is UIndy’s top rebounder at 6.5 per game, and the 6-7 sophomore adds 14.2 points per contest.
On Saturday, Bellarmine continues its road trip with a 4 p.m. contest at Saint Joseph’s. The Pumas are 9-10 on the season with a 3-6 mark in league play.
Guards Eric Gillespie and C.J. Hardway lead the Saint Joseph’s scoring attack averaging 13.7 and 13.6 points per game respectively. Hardaway adds a team-best 4.4 assists per game while 6-6 junior Kindred Williams pulls down 6.5 rebounds a contest to lead the Pumas.
The No. 10 Bellarmine Knights (16-3, 8-1 GLVC) are coming into the road trip on something of a hot streak, having knocked off then-No. 10 Southern Indiana, Lewis and then-No. 22 UWP last week.
During that three-game span, the Knights shot 54.2 percent from the field, including 53.6 percent from the three-point line. Proving Coach Scott Davenport’s point that the Knights are playing team basketball, only Rusty Troutman (14.0) and Adam Eberhard (13.7) averaged in double digits in the last three games while the team’s leading rebounder has been 5-9 guard Al Davis at eight per game.
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by John Spugnardi
