LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine men's basketball team continues its ASUN Conference divisional crossover portion of its schedule on Thursday when the Knights welcome the East Division-leading Liberty Flames to Freedom Hall for a 1:30 p.m. contest. (NOTE: Game originally scheduled for 7 p.m., moved to up due to winter storm warning for late Thursday.)
The game will feature two of the top teams in the league as Bellarmine has won seven of eight league games while Liberty comes in 6-1 in ASUN play. Both the Knights and Flames fell to the same team—Jacksonville State. Bellarmine lost to the Gamecocks last week on the road, and JSU snapped Liberty's 45-game home win streak this past Saturday.
Bellarmine (13-9 overall) enters Thursday's game after a pair of road wins this past Thursday and Saturday, getting the "Florida sweep" with wins at Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast University. The Knights used an efficient offense to get the "W" at Stetson, then flexed their muscles on defense to fly past the Eagles in the second half of Saturday's victory.
While senior guard Dylan Penn continues to be the Knights' top scorer, ranking third in the ASUN with a 17.5 ppg average, backcourt mate CJ Fleming has upped his offensive production and now is 10th in the league in scoring at 13.6 ppg.
Penn also is the team's leading assist man and is third in the ASUN with a 5.0 average. Fleming, meanwhile, tops the ASUN--and the entire nation--in free throw percentage at 96.6 percent. He also leads the league is assist to turnover ratio at 3.3 to 1.
The third member of Bellarmine's backcourt also is popping up among the ASUN stats leaders. Juston Betz is fourth in the league in rebounding at 7.0 per game, fourth in assist to turnover ratio at 2.52 to 1, and ninth in steals per game with an average of 1.4.
Liberty (15-7) overall comes in after recording a 65-50 win at Kennesaw State on Monday night in a game that had been rescheduled from a previous postponement.
The Flames are led by senior guard Darius McGhee, who has drawn comparisons to Steph Curry. He is the leading scorer in the ASUN Conference and has a 48-point game on the books this year, but Liberty is far from a one-dimensional team as McGhee is surrounded by quality players.
A look at Liberty's team statistics shows a squad that does a lot of things well. The Flames lead the league in field goal percentage, but they don't just rely on outshooting their opponents. Liberty also hangs its collective hat on being a solid defensive team, and they are limiting their adversaries to just 39.2 percent shooting—also best in the league. With that type of offensive and defensive efficiency, it's little wonder Liberty also tops conference with a +12.77 scoring margin.
McGhee, last year's ASUN Player of the Year, is on track to repeat that feat and is averaging 22.5 points a game. McGhee's supporting cast includes Keegan McDowell, a sharp-shooting guard averaging 10.2 points a game while making 45.5 percent of his 3-pointers, and Shiloh Robinson a 6-7 forward putting up 10.1 points per contest while making 61.4 percent of his field goals. Lexington native Kyle Rode, meanwhile, is a versatile player who combines good size (6-7, 220 lbs.) with excellent passing skills and the ability to knock down the 3-pointer 43.5 percent from downtown on the season.
After Thursday's game, the Knights host Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. while the Flames travel east 100 miles to take on Eastern Kentucky.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).
