LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Bellarmine Men's Basketball Coach Scott Davenport intentionally constructed a challenging schedule for his Knights in 2016-17, but the 12th year coach can thank the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedulers for constructing the Knights' upcoming five-game stretch that sees Bellarmine face off against the league's top teams.
 
The Knights go on the road to take on the top two teams in the GLVC West, and in a conference-scheduling oddity, they must play on back-to-back nights. On Thursday, Bellarmine plays at No. 10/24 Quincy followed by a Friday evening matchup against Truman State.
 
Following that 1-2 punch, the Knights return home for a brief rest before hitting the road again on Monday to take on the No. 7/10 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, who have started the season a perfect 14-0.
 
When Bellarmine returns home for games on Thursday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 21, they'll be squaring off Lewis and Wisconsin-Parkside—two of the top teams in the GLVC East, setting up what Davenport has called the "toughest five-game stretch of any team in the country."
 
On Thursday, the Knights face a seasoned Quincy team that starts five seniors and has won 14 games in a row and is 15-1 overall with a 5-0 conference record. The Hawks have a lethal inside-outside combination with point guard Herm Senor II and post player Joseph Tagarelli. Senor is the GLVC leader in assists at 6.9 per game while adding 12.6 points per game, and Tagarelli—who has already picked up two GLVC Player of the Week honors this year—is tied for the league lead with a 19.2 scoring average and is third in rebounding at 9.5 per game.
 
Meanwhile 6-8 forward Evan McGauhey is making his presence felt all over the floor for Quincy, averaging 15.6 points a game and  ranking among the league leaders in field goal percentage (6th, 61.6%), 3-point accuracy (8th, 52.4%), blocked shots (3rd, 1.81/game) and rebounding (10th, 6.8/game).
 
Rounding out Quincy's starting five are guards Von Washington III, who is putting up 15 points a game, and Grant Meyer, who has a local connection as a graduate of nearby Silver Creek High School (Sellersburg, Indiana).
 
Both Bellarmine and Quincy come into Thursday's game among the national leaders in field percentage with the Hawks ranked second, averaging 53.2 percent and the Knights coming in at number seven, making 52.2 percent.
 
After the Quincy game, Bellarmine has less than 24 hours to travel the 75 miles from Quincy, Illinois to Kirksville, Missouri and get ready for a matchup with Truman State, a team that is 12-3 overall and second in the GLVC West with a 4-1 conference mark. The game was moved up a day to allow Truman to play Division I Creighton in a Saturday exhibition.
 
Truman State is literally just four points away from being 14-1 with two of its three losses being by just one point. The Bulldogs were clipped by Quincy 91-90 for their only GLVC defeat and two late free throws by Kentucky Wesleyan gave the Panthers a 74-73 win as TSU nearly snapped KWC's 36-game home winning streak.
 
Friday's game could well be decided by the perimeter game.  Truman leads the GLVC and is eighth in the nation in 3-pointers per game, making 11.47 on average. The Bulldogs' lineup also boasts the top two 3-point shooters in the league with Nathan Messer and Jake Velky sinking 55 and 42 trifectas respectively on the season.
 
Truman State utilizes essentially a four-guard lineup with 6-8 senior Connor Erickson being the only starter over 6-4.  Velky is the top point producer for the Bulldogs at 17.6 points per game while Dwight Sistrunk, Jr. is one of the GLVC's top point guards, averaging 4.5 assists per game and  ranking second in the league in assist to turnover ratio (2.79:1). Rounding out the starting five for TSU are Messer (14 ppg) and Cory Myers (13.7 ppg).
 
Bellarmine starts the week 12-2 overall with a perfect 4-0 mark in league play. Adam Eberhard is fresh off one of his best weeks as a Knight.  The 6-8 sophomore picked up his first-ever GLVC Player of the Week honor after averaging 18 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in home victories over Rockhurst and William Jewell.
 
Senior point guard Al Davis has continued his solid play for the Knights, and is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game and leading in assists with an average of 4.2.
 
Preseason All-American Rusty Troutman has been slowed with a sprained ankle, but the 6-5 senior is still Bellarmine's third-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game.  Although he missed the Knights' last game against William Jewell, Coach Davenport hopes to have him back in the lineup for this important stretch of games.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.