| The Bellarmine Knights embark on their final nonconference road trip of the year when they make the relatively short trek down I-64 West to visit the Evansville Purple Aces on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) in the Ford Center. Bellarmine (5-7) is looking to get back in the win column after seeing its three-game win streak snapped on Saturday when Miami came into Freedom Hall and used a late-game surge to sneak past the Knights 71-67. The Purple Aces (3-9) also will be playing their final nonconference game of the season, they’re also looking for a bounce-back win in their first action since Dec. 10 when they fell 88-69 at Ball State. Evansville is under the direction of a new coach as David Ragland took the reins of the program in May. Ragland is a former player for Southern Indiana and, therefore, is no stranger to Bellarmine basketball. He also is no stranger to college basketball in the state of Indiana, having served on coaching staffs at Vincennes, Butler, Indiana State, and Valparaiso during his career. The Purple Aces, members of the Missouri Valley Conference, are led by 6-6 guard Kenny Strawbridge with a scoring average of 15.8. The transfer from Alabama State opened his tenure with Evansville by pouring in 23 points in a season-opening 78-74 win over the same Miami club that just knocked off the Knights. Another solid contributor for Coach Ragland has been UNLV transfer Marvin Coleman II. The 6-3 guard, who notched a triple double when he was with the Runnin’ Rebels, is leading the team in assists (2.8 apg) and rebounds (5.9) while starting all 12 games. Bellarmine comes in with six different players averaging eight or more points, led by Garrett Tipton at 10.8 points per game. The redshirt senior tossed in a career-high 25 against Murray and followed up with a 17-point performance in the Miami contest. Redshirt freshman Ben Johnson also is proving to be a top offensive weapon for the Knights. He led the Bellarmine attack with 19 against Miami to raise his scoring average to 9.8. Although injuries have affected the Knights’ ability to have a consistent starting five, Curt Hopf (9.3 ppg) and Peter Suder (8.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg) have joined Tipton in the starting lineup all 12 games. Graduate student Juston Betz is banged up and has been forced to sit out two games, but despite the adversity, is putting up solid numbers: 8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.0 apg. Wednesday’s game will be the first time Bellarmine has played at the Ford Center since capturing the 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship on the floor. Since its opening in 2011, the Knights have played 12 times at the Ford Center, going 9-3 in those contests. After the Evansville game, Bellarmine will take a short break to celebrate Christmas then get back to the gym to get ready for the start of the ASUN Conference season. The Knights open league play on Dec. 29 hosting preseason favorite Liberty at 6:30 p.m. For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights). |
