LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine men's basketball team opens its final homestand of the regular season on Thursday with a crucial ASUN Conference game against North Alabama at 7:30 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center.
 
Being played at the downtown arena due to a scheduling conflict with Freedom Hall (see note below for ticketing and parking information), Bellarmine will be the home team at the Yum! Center after opening the season with a road win at the facility as they knocked of Louisville 67-66 on Nov. 9. 
 
In facing the Lions of North Alabama (16-11, 8-6 ASUN), the Knights will not only be meeting one of the teams directly above them in the ASUN standings, but they'll also be squaring off against one of the hottest teams in the league.  UNA has gone 7-1 over its last eight games. The Lions' lone loss in that stretch came on the road at Stetson while they recorded wins over Central Arkansas (twice), Jacksonville, North Florida, FGCU, Austin Peay and Lipscomb.
 
North Alabama also features perhaps the hottest player in the league as freshman Jacari Lane is the reigning ASUN Player and Newcomer of the Week after pouring in 29 points against Austin Peay and following up with a 19-point performance against Lipscomb in last week's games.
 
Lane, however, isn't the Lions' top scorer on the season. Daniel Ortiz leads the UNA offense with a 14.1 average, which includes going 82 for 191 (42.9%) from the 3-point line. Lane's season average is 12.3, but that creeps up to 15.6 in ASUN play.
 
Lipscomb transfer KJ Johnson also has been a steady performer for the Lions, averaging 12.1 points while leading the team in assists at 3.3 per game. Damian Forrest presents a solid inside presence for UNA.  The 6-9, 235-pound forward is third in the league in both rebounding and blocked shots, averaging 6.7 and 1.19 respectively. 
 
Bellarmine (12-15, 7-7 ASUN) and UNA have already played one game this season with the Knights earning a 69-65 victory in Florence, Alabama on Jan. 2.  In that game, Bellarmine's Garrett Tipton led the way with 18 points while Juston Betz had seven rebounds and six assists. For the Lions, Lane dropped in 16 points while Forrest grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. 
 
Injuries have been an issue for the Knights all season, and the injury bug bit again in BU's latest outing when starting forward Curt Hopf rolled an ankle less than two minutes into the game at Queens. Despite the setback, Bellarmine managed to get the road win thanks in large part to a 29-point effort from Ben Johnson, who nailed seven of nine 3-pointers in the game. The Lexington native improved his season scoring average to 11 per game, which is second-best on the team.
 
Playing without Hopf for most of the Queens game, Bellarmine turned to sophomore Langdon Hatton to fill most of those minutes, and the 6-10 Georgetown, Indiana native came through in big way, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 33 minutes of court time.
 
Tipton, meanwhile, came through at crunch time for the Knights as he essentially took over the Queens game down the stretch to finish with 22 points and five assists. On the year, Tipton is leading BU in scoring at 13.1 points per game.  Betz, meanwhile, dished out seven assists and grabbed six boards in the Queens contest as he continues to lead the team in both categories with averages of 3.4 apg. and 5.2 rpg.
 
While UNA has the reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Week in Jacari Lane, Bellarmine freshman Peter Suder is just two weeks removed from earning the ASUN's "Newcomer" honor.  He has continued his strong play and ranks second on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and assists (2.6 apg) while scoring 9.3 points per game.  
 
TICKETS/PARKING: Original tickets from Bellarmine season ticket packages will be honored upon entry at the KFC Yum! Center. Bellarmine parking passes will be honored at the Witherspoon Garage. Fans are asked to use the First Street Entrance. All lower bowl sections will be general admission. Walk-up tickets will be available ($15, good for both women's and men's games).
 
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