LOUISVILLE, Ky.--When the Great Lakes Valley Conference unveiled the 2018-19 men's basketball schedule before the season began, it seemed likely that this week would have huge implications for determining the 2019 regular season champion.  And that's precisely what's happened.

With just four games remaining for most GLVC teams, the four teams within one game of one another at the top of the standings will meet this weekend.  The Bellarmine Knights, currently number one in the standings at 11-3, will host the 10-4 Indianapolis Greyhounds on Thursday (8 p.m.)  before welcoming Lewis, which is currently 11-3, on Saturday (3:15 p.m.) for Senior Day. The fourth team in the mix is Southern Indiana, which is 10-4 in the league and also has home games against Lewis and UIndy this week.

For Bellarmine, this week's games are huge not only in relation to conference standing and potential NCAA seeding ramifications, but both games are important from an emotional standpoint.  The Knights have a roster of six seniors (and two senior managers), and this is the final regular season homestand for them.  Additionally, both games present the opportunity for Bellarmine to avenge earlier losses.  The Knights fell 65-61 to Lewis back on Feb. 7, and two nights later the Greyhounds took a 78-69 victory over BU.  

The Knights have since won two in a row, despite dealing with multiple injuries.  Daniel Ramser hasn't played since suffering an injury on Feb. 2, and Chivarsky Corbett sprained an ankle early in the second half against Indianapolis. In addition, Adam Eberhard was slowed by an injury and wasn't in the starting lineup against either the Flyers or the Hounds but did see action. He returned to the starting lineup last week and helped lead the Knights to wins over Illinois Springfield and McKendree.

Other good news for Bellarmine is that junior Ben Weyer appears to have his shooting touch back.  After being held scoreless against Lewis and putting up just five points at UIndy while going a combined 1-for-11 from the 3-point line, the forward from Ft. Thomas, Kentucky erupted for back-to-back career highs against UIS and McKendree, draining 10 of 20 treys while scoring 23 and 26 respectively.

Freshman Dylan Penn also has a hot hand for the Knights.  In the past two games, the Evansville, Indiana native is 7-for-7 from the field and has connected on all six of his free throws. Meanwhile, Alex Cook--who has been in the starting lineup the past four games--continues to lead the GLVC in field goal percentage at 66.4 percent and has raised his scoring average to 11 a game.

Eberhard is still the Bellarmine leader in scoring (19.3 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg), ranking in the top 5 in the GLVC in both categories.  He's also second in the league (behind Cook) shooting 63.5 percent on the year.  

In looking at Thursday's matchup, Bellarmine will need to improve at both ends of the floor if they want to flip the script on UIndy.  Offensively, the Knights made just 45 percent of their shots, which ranks as their third worst shooting game of the year. On the defensive end, Bellarmine fell victim to the three-point shot in the first half, as UIndy made 7 of 14 triples.  In the second half, the Greyhounds took advantage of the Bellarmine defenders' cheating toward the perimeter and started driving to the basket, putting up 26 points in the paint in the final 20 minutes.

C.J. Hardaway led four Greyhound double digit scorers in the first game with 19 points while Trevor Lakes, who currently leads the GLVC in 3-pointers made per game, added 15.

Saturday's contest will be a clash of top 25 teams with Bellarmine coming in at No. 9 and Lewis ranking 24th in the latest NABC poll.  The game also presents an opportunity for redemption for the Knights. In the first meeting against the Flyers, Bellarmine was held to a season-low 61 points and a field goal percentage of just 39 percent, BU's second-worst performance of the year. Defensively, the Knights had solid first half numbers, but Lewis had the upper had in the second period, shooting 59 percent and nailing seven of 12 shots from beyond the arc. 

Adam Pischke was the Flyer doing the most damage, making four of six treys on his way to pouring in 20 points. Teammate Delaney Blaylock turned in a double-double for the Flyers with 15 points and 11 rebounds. 

Color themes have been established for both games. Thursday's game is a "white out," and Saturday's senior day is "scarlet out." 

Tickets for both games are still available. For more information and to order tickets by phone, call 502-272-8036.