LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine men's basketball team welcomes Eastern Kentucky into Knights Hall Saturday night at 7 p.m. ESPN+ and ESPN680 will have the live coverage.
 
Eastern Kentucky (14-11) comes in sitting atop the Atlantic Sun at 9-2, though they dropped an 87-79 decision on the road at second-place Stetson on Saturday in a game that featured 10 lead changes.
 
EKU and Stetson were tied at 70 with 4:47 to play before Stetson finished the game on a 17-9 run. Sophomore guard Walker Leland scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Senior center Isaiah Cozart scored 18 and blocked four shots, adding to his NCAA-leading block totals (89 blocks, 3.9 per game). Stetson's Jalen Blackmon, the ASUN's leading scorer, went off for 27 points, however, to lift the Hatters, who made 22-of-23 free throws compared to EKU's 6-for-9 day at the line.
 
EKU defeated Division I's lone independent, Chicago State, 86-73 on Wednesday night.
 
The Colonels are led by former Scott County High School standout A.W. Hamilton. He led the Cardinals to a KHSAA state title in 1998 with a championship game win over Paintsville. He had them back in the championship game in 1999, but they fell to Ballard. He is in his sixth year as head coach at EKU.
 
"Coach Hamilton has done a super job throughout his career at Eastern and this year certainly is another great example," said Bellarmine head coach Scott Davenport. "Their senior leaders are all up for postseason conference awards, rightfully so. They have led a very balanced league every step of the way. Throughout their roster they get contributions at both ends of the floor. They defend every inch of the floor and attack with phenomenal inside/outside balance."
 
Cozart (15.6 PPG), Walker (15.2 PPG) and senior wing Devontae Blanton (14.0 PPG) are all in the top-15 of the ASUN in scoring and have combined to score 53.3 percent of the Colonels' points. Senior forward Michael Moreno is shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range.
 
In addition to his shot blocking prowess, Cozart leads the ASUN averaging 9.7 rebounds per game and is fourth in the country in field goal percentage at 64.9 percent.
 
This will be the second tussle of the season between Bellarmine (6-20, 2-9 ASUN) and EKU. They matched up in Richmond on Saturday, Jan. 20 with the Colonels earning an 82-70 victory behind 24 points from Blanton and 21 points from Walker. Bash Wieland scored 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting (2-for-3 from three). Ben Johnson went 5-for-9 from three and finished with 18 points.
 
The Knights fell to Florida Gulf Coast their last time out on Saturday in Ft. Myers, 63-52. FGCU faced its largest deficit of six at 24-18 with four minutes left in the first. The Eagles responded with an 11-4 run to take a 29-28 lead into halftime. Langdon Hatton hit a three early in the second half to put Bellarmine up 33-32, but that would be their final lead of the night. A layup by Keeshawn Kellman 26 seconds later would give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish.
 
Johnson scored a game-high 21 points against FGCU on 8-of-19 shooting, 3-of-11 from three. It was his fourth 20-plus point performance of the season (second straight), most on the team. Johnson has hit three-plus threes in three of his last four games.
 
The Knights come into Saturday with their conference tournament hopes in jeopardy. With six games remaining, the Knights sit two games behind Queens and Jacksonville, who are tied for 10^th and play each other Friday night. The top 10 teams in the ASUN standings earn a spot in the conference tournament.
 
Bellarmine is 2-6 all-time against EKU, 2-3 since joining the ASUN. This will be the teams' first matchup inside Knights Hall. Freedom Hall, the Knights' regular home since 2020-21, is hosting the annual National Farm Machinery Show Championship Tractor Pull this week. Bellarmine last played a regular season game in Knights Hall on Nov. 14, 2022, an 86-46 win over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg.
 
Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear white for a "white out."

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