LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine men's basketball team will conclude their home schedule this week with a pair of return games against ASUN competition. The Knights are set to face Austin Peay on Tuesday and in-state rival Eastern Kentucky on Thursday.
 
Both games are scheduled to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and ESPN 680/105.7.
 
About Austin Peay
Austin Peay (NET No. 270) enters the week at 12-15 overall and seventh in the ASUN at 7-7. The Govs are coming off four consecutive home games in which they went 3-1. They are middle of the pack in both team offense and defense in conference play, ranking seventh averaging 75.3 points on offense and sixth averaging 75.9 points allowed on defense. APSU ranks 11^th in the league with their .429 shooting percentage in conference play. They also rank 11^th with their -6.6 rebound margin, ahead of only Bellarmine at -6.7.
 
The Knights are 7-14 all-time against APSU, 1-3 during their Division I era. The Govs swept last season's pair of games, earning an 84-68 win at Freedom Hall on January 4 and taking a 90-87 overtime thriller in the season finale in Clarksville to keep Bellarmine out of the ASUN Tournament. Ben Johnson scored a Bellarmine season-high 34 points on 13-for-25 shooting in the latter. This season, the two teams needed overtime again in their first meeting in Clarksville on January 30. The Knights fought back from an 11-point halftime deficit with a 14-0 second-half run. Quan Lax, however, dropped a layup in with 4.5 seconds left to tie the contest at 71-all in the final seconds of regulation. Austin Peay outscored Bellarmine 15-6 in overtime as the Knights went just 3 for 10 from the field.
 
The Govs boast five players averaging double-digit scoring in ASUN play in senior guard Isaac Haney (15.1 PPG), fifth-year forward Sai Witt (14.4), redshirt junior guard Anton Brookshire (13.4), freshman guard/forward Tate McCubbin (11.7) and junior guard LJ Thomas (11.1). Witt netted 25 points against the Knights on January 30, hitting 7 of 14 from the field and 11 of 16 from the stripe. Brookshire finished with 21 points, hitting 4 of 7 three-point attempts.
 
Davenport on the Governors
"Austin Peay is coming off a tremendous sweep against FGCU and Stetson. In our first game against them, we played Bellarmine basketball, but give Austin Peay credit—they made a great play to force overtime and were much better in the extra period." –Head coach Scott Davenport
 
About Eastern Kentucky
Eastern Kentucky (NET No. 182) starts the week at 16-11 overall and tied for third in the ASUN at 10-4. The Colonels are currently two games into a three-game homestand, having beaten West Georgia 95-73 and defeated Queens 86-80 in overtime this past weekend. They host Lipscomb in their home finale on Tuesday before visiting Louisville on Thursday.
 
Bellarmine is 2-8 all-time against the Colonels after dropping a heartbreaking 72-69 decision in Richmond on January 18. EKU has won five out of seven, including the last four, since Bellarmine reclassified to Division I. Despite their proximity, the programs met just three times, all EKU wins, in 70 seasons while Bellarmine was in Division II with the last coming in in December of 1990.
 
Sophomore guard George Kimble III has been the star this season for the Colonels and averages an ASUN-best 20.5 points in league play. Senior forward Devontae Blanton, the ASUN's active career points leader (1,956) is eighth in the ASUN averaging 16.2 points and 11th averaging 6.5 rebounds in league play. Senior forward Montavious Myrick is third in ASUN league play averaging 9.2 boards.
 
Davenport on the Colonels
"EKU is doing EKU things—playing tremendous basketball on a seven-game conference winning streak going into their game Tuesday hosting Lipscomb. Regardless of their situation—injuries, obstacles or any circumstances—Coach Hamilton has proven every year to be among the best anywhere, any level."
 
Last Week
Bellarmine battled back in the second half against Queens to force overtime on Thursday at Knights Hall. The Royals posted a 13-0 run to go up 65-49, but the Knights responded with a 19-3 run to even the score at 68-all before the game was tied at 76-76 after 40 minutes. Bellarmine was outscored 16-11 in the extra period, however, and fell 92-87. Against West Georgia on Saturday, Bellarmine led 42-34 at the half, but UWG would use a 20-6 run out of the break to take a six-point lead. Their lead would rise to 12 before a late 9-2 run gave the Knights some hope. The Knights cut the lead to five twice in the final minute while the game was still in question, but UWG converted five of six free throws to seal the win.
 
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