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LOUISVILLE, Ky.-The Bellarmine University men's basketball team will open its 2014-15 campaign on Monday night with an exhibition game at the University of Cincinnati where they'll meet the Bearcats at 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.
Bellarmine and Cincinnati have met four previous times in exhibition games including last season when the Bearcats prevailed 84-72. The teams' head coaches have a much longer history than four games, however, as Bellarmine's Scott Davenport and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin both served on Rick Pitino's staff at the University of Louisville from 2001-2003.
The Knights return three starters from last season's 23-8 squad and have earned a preseason ranking of No. 13 by the D2 Bulletin. Basketball Times also has Bellarmine in their preseason top 20 at No. 16, and that publication also selected Jake Thelen as a preseason All-American. The Bellarmine forward led the nation and set a new school record by knocking down 74 percent of his field goal attempts last season. Thelen is the Knights' top returning scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg a year ago.
Another top returner for Bellarmine is George Suggs, who had a solid outing against UC last season with 15 points and five blocked shots. The 6-10 forward went on to average 9.7 points and 2.0 blocked shots 2013-14 and led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in blocks per game.
Rusty Troutman is the third returning starter for the Knights. The 6-5 sophomore guard showed steady improvement a year ago and joined the starting five the last 15 games of the season, finishing with an average of 8.3 points per game while pulling down 4.3 boards per contest.
Other top returners for the Knights include 6-9 sophomore forward Josh Derksen along with senior guard Corbin Maynard. Derksen was the fifth leading scorer on the team last season at 9.1 ppg, while Maynard was a defensive catalyst who was second on the team in steals. Both players appeared in all 31 games for the Knights. Junior guard Michael Parrish also provided a spark for the Knights last season, seeing action in 27 games. Also returning for the Knights are 6-5 forward George Knott, 6-2 guard Billy Edelen, 6-0 guard Nick Fredrick, and 6-7 forward Tyler Landry.
Bellarmine newcomers for the 2014-15 season include senior transfers Chris Whitehead (Fordham) and Josh Sewell (Miami-OH) and true freshmen Brent Bach, Jarek Coles and Rhett Troutman.
The Bearcats were 27-7 a year ago and picked to finish fourth in this year's American Athletic Conference preseason poll. Cincinnati returns two starters and five scorers from last year's squat that shared a portion of the regular season AAC crown and made UC's fourth consecutive NCAA appearance.
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Bellarmine and Cincinnati have met four previous times in exhibition games including last season when the Bearcats prevailed 84-72. The teams' head coaches have a much longer history than four games, however, as Bellarmine's Scott Davenport and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin both served on Rick Pitino's staff at the University of Louisville from 2001-2003.
The Knights return three starters from last season's 23-8 squad and have earned a preseason ranking of No. 13 by the D2 Bulletin. Basketball Times also has Bellarmine in their preseason top 20 at No. 16, and that publication also selected Jake Thelen as a preseason All-American. The Bellarmine forward led the nation and set a new school record by knocking down 74 percent of his field goal attempts last season. Thelen is the Knights' top returning scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg a year ago.
Another top returner for Bellarmine is George Suggs, who had a solid outing against UC last season with 15 points and five blocked shots. The 6-10 forward went on to average 9.7 points and 2.0 blocked shots 2013-14 and led the Great Lakes Valley Conference in blocks per game.
Rusty Troutman is the third returning starter for the Knights. The 6-5 sophomore guard showed steady improvement a year ago and joined the starting five the last 15 games of the season, finishing with an average of 8.3 points per game while pulling down 4.3 boards per contest.
Other top returners for the Knights include 6-9 sophomore forward Josh Derksen along with senior guard Corbin Maynard. Derksen was the fifth leading scorer on the team last season at 9.1 ppg, while Maynard was a defensive catalyst who was second on the team in steals. Both players appeared in all 31 games for the Knights. Junior guard Michael Parrish also provided a spark for the Knights last season, seeing action in 27 games. Also returning for the Knights are 6-5 forward George Knott, 6-2 guard Billy Edelen, 6-0 guard Nick Fredrick, and 6-7 forward Tyler Landry.
Bellarmine newcomers for the 2014-15 season include senior transfers Chris Whitehead (Fordham) and Josh Sewell (Miami-OH) and true freshmen Brent Bach, Jarek Coles and Rhett Troutman.
The Bearcats were 27-7 a year ago and picked to finish fourth in this year's American Athletic Conference preseason poll. Cincinnati returns two starters and five scorers from last year's squat that shared a portion of the regular season AAC crown and made UC's fourth consecutive NCAA appearance.
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