LOUISVILLE, Ky.—After taking their first two ASUN Conference contests at home, the Bellarmine Knights will look to continue their good start in league play on the road as they travel to Nashville for an ASUN matchup at Lipscomb University on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. EST (4 p.m. CST).
Lipscomb (8-10, 1-2 ASUN) is led by a pair of talented, solidly built players in forward Jacob Ognacevic (6-8, 220 lbs) and center Ahsan Asadullah (6-9, 275 lbs).
Ognacevic has made an immediate impact on the Bisons' lineup this season after transferring from Valparaiso, where he was one of just four players to play in all 28 games while putting up 6.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He also led Valpo with a 54.5 field goal percentage (61-112) and a 51.7-percent clip from three-point range (30-58). This year, Ognacevic has picked up two ASUN Newcomer of the Week Awards and is averaging 16.8 points and has drained 26 of 49 treys.
Asadullah is the reigning ASUN Player of the Week after topping the 30-point plateau in back-to-back games last week including a 32-point, 11-rebound and 6-assist effort against Central Arkansas on Sunday. Despite missing eight games earlier this season, Asadullah has already picked up three ASUN Player of the Week Awards. Because he missed time, he does not yet qualify for the minimums to be ranked in the league statistical rankings, but if he did, his 18.2 points per game would be third in the league and his 8.6 rebounds would be second.
With Asadullah's return to the line-up, Ognacevic has moved to more of a sixth man role with 6-8 Hazen Parker remaining in the starting five. Parker has started all 18 games for Lipscomb this season with averages of 8.1 points and 5.8 rebounds.
While the Bisons' frontcourt is certainly formidable, the backcourt is also solid with a trio of 6-3 guards who offer a wealth of experience. Greg Jones is averaging 10 points a game and is the top 3-point threat having launched 94 treys on the season. KJ Johnson, meanwhile, is the top assist man for Lipscomb, dishing out 70 helpers so far this season. The third member of the starting backcourt is Will Pruitt, who contributes in all phases including the defensive end, where he leads the Bisons in steals with 14.
Lipscomb opened ASUN play with a 10-point home win over North Alabama but dropped a pair of 5-point games on the road, falling at Central Arkansas 93-88 and at Jacksonville State 88-83.
Bellarmine (8-8, 2-0 ASUN) opened league play with a 66-61 win over Eastern Kentucky and an 85-63 triumph over Central Arkansas. Those games saw different players step up for the Knights. Against Eastern,
Alec Pfriem,
CJ Fleming and
Curt Hopf all tossed in career highs with 23, 22, and 15 points respectively. On Tuesday, it was
Dylan Penn turning in a powerful performance with a career-high 38 points on 18 of 22 shooting.
Penn, who enters the Lipscomb contest just 23 points shy of 1,000 for his career, has been the Bellarmine scoring and assist leader all season. Currently he's scoring at a 16.5 ppg clip and is dishing out 5.2 assists per game. Those numbers rank fourth and second in the ASUN.
Juston Betz, a 6-3 guard, is leading the Knights in rebounding and ranks third in the ASUN with an average of 6.5 boards a game.
The Lipscomb contest is a quick road trip for the Knights. After Saturday's game in Nashville, Bellarmine returns home for its next two games, with North Alabama and Jacksonville visiting Freedom Hall next week.
