The Bellarmine University men’s basketball team hosts Miami University (OH) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in what will be the Knights’ final non-conference home basketball game of the season.
The game is the return contest of a home and home arrangement with the RedHawks. In last year’s matchup, the Knights collected a 77-68 road win at Millett Hall behind a 22-point effort from Ohio native Alec Pfriem.
This year’s contest promises to look a lot different-especially when looking at the Miami team. Only two of the nine players who saw action against Bellarmine are back for the 2022-23 season, and Miami (4-6) has a new coach in former Xavier head man Travis Steele, who compiled a 70-50 record in his four years leading the Musketeers. The good news for Steele is that one of the two returners is 5-8 point guard Mekhi Lairy, who is the team’s leading scorer and assist man, averaging 15.8 points and 3.6 assists.
Bellarmine (5-6) returns seven of the nine players who saw action against Miami last year. The good news for Coach Scott Davenport is that three of his starting five from last year’s game are expected to be in lineup again this season: Priem, Juston Betz and Curt Hopf. All three had solid efforts against the RedHawks. While Pfriem was the scoring leader (thanks to a 6-for-8 performance behind the 3-point line), Betz ran down a team-high seven rebounds and Hopf added 10 points on 5-of-6 field goal shooting.
This year’s game features a number of interesting personnel connections, including former roommates squaring off. In 2021-22, Bellarmine’s Langdon Hatton and Miami’s Julian Lewis both played at William & Mary, where they roomed together. Hatton, a 6-10 forward, and Lewis, a 6-6 guard, are making solid contributions for their new teams. Hatton has appeared in all 11 of Bellarmine’s games averaging nearly 13 minutes of court time. Lewis, meanwhile, has started six games for the RedHawks, averaging 10.2 points and leads the team in rebounding at 5.2 per contest.
Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of former teammates is the one featuring Garrett Tipton and Morgan Safford, who played three high school seasons together at Bishop Hartley in Columbus, Ohio. Tipton enters Saturday’s game as Bellarmine’s top scorer at 10.2 points per game and is coming off a career-best 25 points against Murray this past Saturday. Safford, who transferred to Miami from Wofford, has started six games for the RedHawks and is team’s second-leading scorer with an average of 14.7.
Other former teammates now wearing opposing uniforms will be Bellarmine’s Zach Reed and Miami’s Billy Smith, who both graduated from Brebeuf Prepartory in Indianapolis last year. Bellarmine’s Nick Thelen and Miami’s Mitchell Rylee both attended Covington Catholic, but Thelen graduated prior to Rylee joining the team.
The familiarity between the programs extends beyond the players as well. Bellarmine Assistant Coach Doug Davenport and Miami’s Steele served two years on the same Xavier coaching staff. Davenport was a graduate assistant from 2010-12 while Steele was an assistant coach prior to his elevation to the head coaching role.
Saturday’s game has been designated “Camper Knight,” and all former Bellarmine Basketball campers (and their siblings) will be admitted free while parent tickets can be purchased for $5. To sign up for camper tickets, click this link: https://forms.gle/9YyLgHugXzUJgEeq6. Parent tickets may be purchased at https://www.ticketmaster.com/bellarmine-university-knights-mens-basketball-vs-louisville-kentucky-12-17-2022/event/16005D30853B23CC.
After Saturday’s game, the Knights will play one more non-conference contest at Evansville on Dec. 21 then return to Freedom Hall to begin ASUN play against preseason favorite Liberty on Dec. 29.
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by John N. Spugnardi
