LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University men's basketball team, which in a span of 11 days (Nov. 18-29) logged more than 5,600 miles and played five games—four against "Power 5" teams, now gets to stay close to home in the month of December. 
 
The Knights will make their season debut in Freedom Hall on Sunday at 4 p.m. against in-state foe Alice Lloyd College ahead of hosting Wabash College from the Hoosier state on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
 
Bellarmine and Alice Lloyd, which is in Pippa Passes, have never squared off on the hardwood. The Eagles are members of the River States Conference which is an NAIA league that was originally called the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC).
 
Last season Alice Lloyd posted a 27-6 overall record with a third-place finish in the conference.  This year, the Eagles were picked to finish third in the league as they welcome back two preseason all-conference performers in 6-5 forward Will Philpot and 6-4 forward Damon Tobler. 
 
Opening the season 3-5 with a game at Ohio Christian scheduled for Saturday night, Alice Lloyd is being led in scoring by senior guard Bryce Slone at 12.8 points per game.  With 23 trifectas on the season, he has made almost half of the team's 50 treys on the year.  As expected, Philpot and Tobler are also top producers for the Eagles.  Philpot is averaging a double-double (12.7 ppg, 12.3 rpg) while Tobler is averaging 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.
 
The Knights and Eagles have one common opponent on the year, Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.  Bellarmine defeated the Pioneers 86-46 in Knights Hall on Nov. 14, and Alice Lloyd bested CU-H 73-69 in Harrodsburg.
 
Bellarmine and Wabash have met officially twice in school history with the Knights and Little Giants each owning a victory.  However, the last time Bellarmine battled the school from Crawfordsville, Indiana was on Nov. 1, 2018 in an exhibition game in Knights Hall.  That contest featured Bellarmine All-American Adam Eberhard battling his younger brother, Alex, in a game that saw the Knights win 86-58.
 
The Little Giants are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, compiling a 28-4 record while winning the North Coast Athletic Conference.  Wabash ended the 2022 season with a loss in the national semifinals of the NCAA Division III National Championship, the defeat snapping a school-record 24-game win streak.
 
This year, Wabash was picked third in the preseason NCAC poll and has started the regular season with a 5-2 record heading into Saturday's contest against Oberlin.  The Little Giants, who lost three starters to graduation from last year's squad, feature a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging in double digits.  Heading that quintet is Ahmoni Jones at 14.9 points per game. Sam Comer is the leading the team in rebounding and assists (6.9 rpg., 4.3 apg) while adding 11.4 points per game.
 
Bellarmine, like Wabash, is a defending conference champion.  The Knights finished 20-13 last season and swept through the ASUN Conference championship, capping their run with a dramatic 77-72 win over Jacksonville in front of more than 6,200 fans at Freedom Hall on March 8.  Bellarmine will celebrate winning the conference crown prior to the Alice Lloyd game with the presentation of championship rings to last year's players.
 
The Knights have started their 2022-23 campaign with another challenging schedule, going 2-6 over their first eight games.  Bellarmine, which has earned the reputation for its passing offense, features a "next man up" scoring philosophy.  In its first eight games, five different players have been the team's leading scorer:  Garrett Tipton, Peter Suder, Bash Wieland, Curt Hopf, and Ben Johnson.
 
Hopf has had the hot hand for the Knights and enters Sunday's game BU's leading scorer at 10.1 points per game.  He notched his career-high of 16 points against UCLA last Sunday and followed that up with a 15-point performance against Kentucky. The 6-8 forward has nailed nine of 18 three-pointers in those games and is making 44.7 percent on the year.
 
Juston Betz, the 2022-23 ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, is leading the Knights in rebounding at 4.9 per contest and is the leading assist man on the team with 21 on the season.

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