LOUISVILLE, Ky.—With the basketball success of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine—both are past national champions--it's always a clash of the titans when these perennial powers meet on the hardwood.  That classic battle is coming to Knights Hall on Saturday when the Knights host the Screaming Eagles in an 8 p.m. contest.
 
Bellarmine, ranked No. 1 in the nation and sitting atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings, and Southern Indiana met early in the season in both squads' first league game with the Knights coming away with a 91-80 victory on Dec. 1.
 
However, the 11-point margin is a bit misleading.  Bellarmine led just 81-80 at the 1:14 mark before the Knights closed the game on an 11-0 run, thanks in large part to free throws awarded to Bellarmine after Southern Indiana bench was assessed two technical fouls with under 10 seconds remaining in the game.
 
The Screaming Eagles come into Saturday's game 14-5 overall and 6-3 in GLVC play.  Southern Indiana had won five in a row until Drury pulled a 76-72 upset the past Saturday.
 
Coach Rodney Watson's USI team already has enjoyed success in Knights Hall this season, downing Northern Michigan and Barry on back-to-back days in the Bellarmine Classic.  Southern Indiana also is the last GLVC team to beat Bellarmine in Knights Hall.  With the Knights currently on a 67-game home win streak, that victory came in overtime during the 2013-14 season.
 
Overall, Southern Indiana owns a 50-43 lead in the all-time series with Bellarmine, but the Knights have won six in a row over USI and nine of the last 10.
 
In addition to featuring two of the top teams in the GLVC, Saturday's contest will highlight some of the league's, if not nation's, best players.  Bellarmine's Adam Eberhard was named national Player of the Month for January by the DII Bulletin and is currently leading the GLVC in scoring at 21.4 points a game.  Southern Indiana's Alex Stein also is among the nation's elite and is fourth in scoring at 20.7 points a game.
 
However, both teams go well beyond their top scorers.  USI's Emmanuel Little is one of the GLVC's top inside players, ranking second in the league in rebounding at 7.7 per game.  The 6-6 power forward is coming off back-to-back double-doubles last week against Missouri S&T and Drury.  Bellarmine counters with 6-7 forward Chivarsky Corbett, who ranks fifth in the GLVC with a rebounding average of 6.8 per games. He has turned in four double-doubles on the season.
 
Other top players for Southern Indiana include Kobe Caldwell and Nate Hansen, who both are serious threats from 3-point range.  Caldwell has launched 99 on the season, converting 44, and Hansen has put up 98 triples, making 35.  Stein, meanwhile, is making 50 percent of his threes, going 29 of 58 on the season.  On the interior, Josh Price is a force for the Screaming Eagles.  The 6-8, 250-pound forward was certainly a factor in the first Bellarmine-USI game this season, pouring in a season-high 22 points.
 
Bellarmine's supporting cast also is formidable. Alex Cook, who comes off the bench for Coach Scott Davenport, is on a bit of a hot streak.  He has scored 17 points or more in three of the Knights' last four games, including a career-high-tying 24-point performance against William Jewell. Over that span, Cook has hit 21 of 25 shots from the field and now leads the GLVC in field goal percentage at .677 on the year.
 
Junior forward Ben Weyer is Bellarmine's most prolific 3-point shooter, netting 32 of his 76 attempts on the season.  His 5-for-5 performance from long range in the first meeting with USI was one of the major reasons the Knights built a 15-point advantage in the contest. On the season, Weyer is averaging 12.1 points and hauls in 4.8 rebounds.
 
Bellarmine (18-0, 9-0 GLVC) also is getting strong play from Daniel Ramser, who ranks among the GLVC's leaders in assist to turnover ratio, and CJ Fleming, who leads the league in 3-point accuracy at 51.4 percent.
 
There are a still a limited number of tickets available.  For ticket information, please call 502-272-8036.

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