LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine men's basketball team begins their fourth season of Atlantic Sun play this week at Freedom Hall. The Knights first host Austin Peay on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by Lipscomb on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

BU defeated APSU, 54-45, last year, but lost to Lipscomb, 69-49, both on the road.

The Knights' (4-11) nonconference schedule came to a close Saturday night at with a tightly contested 90-85 loss at High Point. Still, there were positives to be found.

Ben Johnson returned to the starting lineup and scored 32 points. It set a new career high for the sophomore guard and is the most points scored by a Knight this season.

Additionally, senior guard Alec Pfriem returned to the floor and scored 15 points and hit a team-high three threes. He missed the previous five games with a concussion.

Austin Peay (7-8) is coming off an 81-70 loss at in-state foe No. 18 Memphis on Saturday. The Governors were knotted with the Tigers at 48-48 with 13:29 to play, but Memphis rattled off on a 24-8 run to take a 72-56 lead. APSU battled back to make it 76-70 with 1:24 remaining, but fell by 11. Senior guard Dezi Jones scored a team-high 20 points in the defeat.

While Jones had the big game against Memphis, it is another senior guard, team captain DeMarcus Sharp, who is pacing the Governors in most stat categories. He leads his team averaging 17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.6 steals. His string of 14 straight games in double-figure scoring came to an end against Memphis.

Sharp has been named ASUN Newcomer of the Week three times this year. He is one of five transfers who followed head coach Corey Gipson to APSU from Northwestern State, where he went 22-11 in his one season. In fact, Sharp, junior guard Isaac Haney and senior guard Ja'Monta Black all followed Gipson from Missouri State, where he was associate head coach, to Northwestern State and then to APSU.

"Austin Peay begins their new era under the outstanding Coach Gipson," said Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport. "He has a proven track record and that is demonstrated in a roster that only includes one player who scored against us last year. We find this a very difficult scout because three players have just been declared eligible."

After facing three straight high-powered offenses, Bellarmine's defense will face a slower-paced Austin Peay team who is 341^st in the country in possessions per game. The Governors are last in the ASUN, averaging both 67.3 points per game 11.3 assists per game, though they also allow the fewest points (65.4 per game).

Lipscomb (9-6) upset Florida State on the road their last time out on Saturday, 78-75. The Bisons will open ASUN play in Richmond against Eastern Kentucky on Thursday before heading to Louisville to face Bellarmine. The Knights are 2-3 against the Bisons since joining the ASUN.
Lipscomb shot 47.8% from beyond the arc and led FSU by as many as 21 with 15:53 remaining. FSU went on a 34-16 run to close the game, but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left.

A trio of junior guards keyed Lipscomb's win. Will Pruitt scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting (3-of-6 from three), Joe Anderson dished out a game-high 10 assists and AJ McGinnis hit four of eight threes.

As a team, Lipscomb is tops in the ASUN shooting 47.6% from the field.

"Lipscomb enters conference play as the early favorite by their performance on the court facing an incredibly difficult schedule," said Davenport. "They return four players and have reloaded with quality players who are very well coached. I admire their play at both ends playing the game at a high level in terms of efficiency. To beat them you must be flawless in terms of execution. Lipscomb is a quality program."

Princeton, KY, native and Georgetown College (KY) transfer Derrin Boyd leads the Bisons averaging 17.3 points per game, though he has not appeared in a game since Dec. 6 at Belmont due to a thumb injury.

Pruitt leads the team averaging 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He is second on the team behind Boyd averaging 12.9 points.

ESPN+ will have coverage of both games.

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