EVANSVILLE, Ind. — It was a homecoming to remember for Bellarmine University's Adam Eberhard in the opening game of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Friday at the Ford Center.

The Evansville native piled up career highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead the No. 3 Knights to an 81-68 victory over No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville.

Eberhard knocked down 9 of 13 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers, to top the 22 points he scored in his previous outing in a victory over Northwood. He racked up 17 points alone in the second half for Bellarmine (2-1) as the Knights' lead never dipped below seven against the Chargers (2-1) in the final 15 minutes and rose to as high as 15.

"He's a very gifted player, and he's only three games into his sophomore year," Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport said of Eberhard, whose previous rebounding high was nine all the way back in his collegiate debut.

Senior guard Rusty Troutman scored 22 points for Bellarmine, while senior guard Al Davis chipped in 13. Justin Ward paced UAH with 18 points, and Brandon Roberts chipped in 15.

"This is a fabulous event," Davenport said. "These are the best teams in the country. They are so well-coached. Our team is going to get better playing them; we got better today."

Bellarmine was sound in all areas and needed to be against the highly talented Chargers, who trailed the entire game but responded every time the Knights threatened to put the contest out of reach until BU slammed the door in the final 4 minutes. Bellarmine shot 50 percent from the floor and held Alabama-Huntsville to 43.9 percent. The Knights had decisive advantages in points in the paint (34-16), points off turnovers (22-8) and second-chance points (14-6).

In addition, Bellarmine dominated the boards. The Knights had a 41-28 rebounding superiority, including 11-4 on the offensive glass. The Chargers didn't have an offensive board in the first half. Led by Eberhard, seven different Knights had three or more rebounds.

"It was really a mindset — not just for me, for everybody," Eberhard said of the rebounding. "We beat a really, really good team today."

Starting with a made jumper from Troutman on Bellarmine's first shot, the Knights took a lead that they ultimately never lost. A 3-pointer by Davis and layup from Troutman off an Eberhard feed gave Bellarmine a quick 7-0 lead. The game was tied at 14 with 12 minutes left in the first half, but a 16-6 run started by freshman forward Alex Cook's basket and ended by consecutive 3-pointers from junior guards Brent Bach and Jarek Coles helped propel the Knights to a 43-34 halftime lead.

Five was as close as Alabama-Huntsville got in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Eberhard highlighted an 8-0 run that boosted the lead to 15 with 11:28 left. UAH got within single digits multiple times thereafter, but Bellarmine consistently countered to bump the lead back up to double-digits. Layups by Troutman, Coles and Eberhard had the Knights rolling with a little over 2 minutes left as the advantage swelled to 14.

Bellarmine plays Florida Southern at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday as the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic continues. It will be a rematch of the 2015 Final Four played on the same floor.

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