LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men’s basketball team will make its long-awaited home debut when the Knights welcome Morehead State for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) contest Monday in Freedom Hall and then immediately engage in their second by hosting Midway at the exact same time Tuesday in the venerable venue.
It will be a de facto round-robin week between the three teams as Midway (2-4) will play Wednesday at Morehead State (2-3).
Similar to Bellarmine’s Power Five early tests, Morehead State’s challenging nonconference schedule has thus far included road outings at Alabama, Purdue and Penn State, with the Eagles most recently falling 74-51 in the latter. MSU preceded the contest against the Nittany Lions with a 74-66 home win over Mercer.
Riley Minix, formerly an NAIA All-American at Southeastern in Florida, is averaging 16.2 points and 7.0 rebounds for Morehead State. He netted at least 18 points in four of the team’s five games, including 19 against Alabama and 18 versus Purdue. Minix is shooting 95.5 percent (21-of-22) from the free-throw line and went 12-for-12 from the charity stripe against Mercer.
Drew Thelwell is averaging 12.6 points per contest. He piled up 26 points versus Mercer and had 13 against Alabama for Morehead State, which last season went 22-12 overall and 14-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference while earning a berth in the NIT.
Bellarmine (1-3) represents Midway’s second of three straight games over three days, with the Eagles playing Monday night at Tennessee State in the prelude to their matchup with the Knights. In fact, NAIA Midway will be lacing them up for the sixth time in nine days when it meets Morehead State after BU.
Ahead of its contest at Tennessee State, Midway has been led in scoring by Jalen Cincore at 18.3 points per game and Donnie Miller is next at 16.3. The Eagles enter their three-games-in-three-days stretch fresh off a 114-93 victory over Wilberforce.
After a potential big road win slipped away inside the last four minutes at Chattanooga, Bellarmine regrouped Friday in impressive fashion with a convincing 85-67 victory at Bowling Green. The Knights shot 58.3 percent from the field, including 72 percent in the second half, while knocking down 11 of their 17 3-point attempts (64.7).
Bellarmine’s defense limited Bowling Green to only 21 points in the first half, and, coupled with the long-range shooting, allowed the Knights to build a 29-21 lead at halftime before the offense fired on all cylinders after the break.
Sophomore guard Ben Johnson registered 20 points following a 19-point outing at Chattanooga. Sophomore guard Billy Smith supplied 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench, senior guard Alec Pfriem added 13 points and sophomore guard Peter Suder had 12, and senior guard Bash Wieland pulled down nine rebounds.
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