LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men's basketball team had all the inspiration it needed and more Thursday in Freedom Hall.

With numerous area elementary and middle school students from both Jefferson County Public Schools and the Louisville Archdiocesan schools in attendance and bringing the noise, the Knights rocked and rolled to a 71-34 victory over Centre in an exhibition game dubbed "Inspiration Day."

Bellarmine was playing its first game — and first in Freedom Hall — since its historic 77-72 triumph over Jacksonville in the ASUN Tournament finals. And even though it was an exhibition, the lively atmosphere echoed that landmark March 8 evening.

"It was about as loud as it was at the conference championship," said senior guard Garrett Tipton of the 6,600 mostly exuberant youngsters in attendance.

"To see all those kids in the rafters, it was an incredible experience," senior guard Bash Wieland added. "It really helped us. They cheered for any little thing we did."

And Bellarmine did a lot right in the preseason warmup. The Knights built a 38-14 lead at halftime and shot 47.7 percent for the game while owning point advantages of 50-6 in the paint, 27-7 off turnovers, 15-3 on the fast break and 13-4 off second chances.

Centre scored the first basket, but Bellarmine registered the next 14 points, with a Tipton layup and a Wieland 3-pointer bookending the run. A lay-in by senior guard Juston Betz after a steal by sophomore forward Curt Hopf bumped the advantage to 18-8, and the Knights led by double digits the rest of the way.

Tipton hit 7-of-11 shots and tallied a game-high 15 points, with 11 coming in the first half. Wieland collected 14 points and seven rebounds while freshman guard Peter Suder notched 11 points and seven rebounds. Betz sank 4-of-5 shots in accounting for nine points, five assists and three steals.

Bellarmine played 12 and 11 entered the scoring column for the Knights, who were without a handful of guys working their way back.

"There will be a lot to watch on film and get better at," Tipton said. "It was nice to get back out there and knock the rust off. There's a lot of room to grow."

After the exhibition, Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport's primary focus was on making sure teachers, principals, administrators, bus drivers and all others working in school systems understand how much they are valued.

"This is an amazing day," he said. "Kudos to everybody. From the bottom of my heart, we appreciate it."

Bellarmine opens the season Nov. 9 against Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center.

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