LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights continue their ASUN Conference play on Tuesday night when they host league newcomer Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. in Freedom Hall.
 
Like Bellarmine, UCA is a former Division II program, making the transition to DI in 2006 when they joined the Southland Conference. Known by many basketball fans as the alma mater of former NBA great Scottie Pippen, the Bears are quickly making a name for themselves in the ASUN after notching wins at EKU and at home over Lipscomb.  The early success was unexpected by the league coaches, who voted UCA last in the preseason coaches poll.
 
While the Bears return two of their top three scorers from last year's squad that went 5-19, Coach Anthony Boone is getting the most production from newcomers Darious Hall (13.3 pts/7.8 rebs/2.7 asts) and Camren Hunter (13.0 pts/4/4 rebs/2.7 asts). Hall, a 6-7 guard/forward, began his collegiate career at Arkansas in 2017, playing in 35 games for Razorbacks before transferring and playing 32 games at DePaul in 2019-20. Hunter, a 6-3 guard, is a true freshman.
 
Collin Cooper and Eddy Kayouloud, UCA's top two returning scorers are both contributing to the Bear's offense again this season, adding 10.2 and 8.4 points per game respectively.
 
Also like Bellarmine, UCA played a competitive nonconference schedule, going 3-10 while squaring off against "power 5" programs Baylor, Arkansas, and Texas A&M.
 
Tuesday's game will decide the early ASUN West Division leader as both teams come in undefeated in league play. Bellarmine made its conference debut on Saturday with a 66-61 victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.  Despite playing short-handed, the Knights ran out to 20-point first half lead then held off a relentless EKU team in the second half.
 
Bellarmine's CJ Fleming, Curt Hopf and Alec Pfriem all tied or set new career highs in scoring against the Colonels, with Pfiem leading all scorers with 23.
 
On the season, Dylan Penn remains the leading scorer for the Knights with a 15.1 average, which also ranks among the top five in the ASUN.  Penn also tops the Bellarmine assist charts with 81 on the season, and his 5.4 assists per game average is second in the league.
 
Juston Betz continues to the lead Bellarmine in rebounding.  His 10 boards against EKU lifted his yearly average to 6.6 per game to rank third in the ASUN.