LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University Knights will travel to Fort Myers, Florida in search of their first conference wins in contests at Florida Gulf Coast on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
The Knights (3-5, 0-2 ASUN) made their conference debut last week dropping a pair of close games to ASUN preseason favorite Lipscomb in historic Freedom Hall.  This week, Bellarmine faces an FGCU squad that is 5-2 on season but is making its ASUN debut after being on a COVID-induced pause of the program. The Eagles will be playing in their first games since defeating Georgia Southern 73-60 on Dec. 22.
 
Florida Gulf Coast was ranked fifth in both the coaches and media preseason ASUN polls.  The Eagles went 10-22 last season with a 7-9 league mark.  Coach Michael Fly, a Kentucky native and UK graduate, is in his third season at FGCU and welcomes a strong mix of returners and newcomers this year.
 
Caleb Catto, a 6-5 guard, was a unanimous selection to the preseason All-ASUN team, and the junior from Cape Coral, Florida hasn't disappointed in the early going as evidenced by his ASUN Player of the Week honor on Dec. 14.  He leads the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game (3rd in ASUN), and he's been highly effective from beyond the arc, making 21 of 48 to rank among the league leaders in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point field goal percentage. 
 
Meanwhile, fellow guards Cyrus Largie and Jalen Warren also are off to solid starts in 2020-21.  Largie also has garnered an ASUN Player of the Week honor this season, and he's putting up 12 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.  Warren, who also was a preseason All-ASUN selection, is averaging 11.5 points a game.
 
Newcomers Eli Abaev and Luis Rolon also are making big impacts this year.  Abaev, a 6-8 graduate transfer who was teammates with BU's Sam DeVault last season at Austin Peay, is hauling in 8.6 rebounds per game to rank second in the league.  He was honored as Newcomer of the Week the same week Largie received his weekly award.  Rolon, a freshman from Puerto Rico, has started the last four games for the Eagles and is leading squad and is third in the league with 4.4 assists per game. He also is presence on defense, where he is tops in the ASUN with 2.57 steals per game.
 
Bellarmine is being led by Junior Pedro Bradshaw this season, and the Russellville, Kentucky native is ranked in the ASUN's top 10 in five different categories, including scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg).  Fellow junior Dylan Penn also has been a consistent performer for the Knights averaging just under 13 points a game and is tied with Ethan Claycomb and CJ Fleming for the team lead in assists at three per game.
 
As a team, the Knights are leading the ASUN in both overall field goal percentage (50.8) and 3-point field percentage (41.0). 
 
Both games will be available on ESPN+ and local fans can get the radio call from Doug Ormay and Mark Bugg on ESPN Louisville.  Friday's game will air on 93.9 FM The Ville while Saturday's action can be heard on 680-AM/105.7-FM.