The Gauntlet version 2.0 begins Friday for the Bellarmine Knights.
Last year, the Bellarmine men’s basketball team-then its second year of transitioning to Division I-embarked on early season road games that some around the program simply called “The Gauntlet.” To open the 2021-22 season, Bellarmine played six straight road games-including three against teams that spent time at No. 1 in the polls last November (Purdue, Gonzaga, and UCLA). The trip took them to Indiana, Kentucky, California, Washington and Nevada as the Knights racked up the frequent flyer miles.
This year, after opening with three games in which they didn’t have to leave the state, the Knights are embarking on another epic road stretch. On Friday, they’ll play at Clemson before busing it to Durham, North Carolina to take on the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday. After returning to campus for a couple of days, Bellarmine again packs its bags and heads to Los Angeles to spend most of the Thanksgiving weekend in California. The Knights will take on Loyola Marymount on Friday, Nov. Nov. 25 before visiting Pauley Pavilion and the eighth-ranked UCLA Bruins on Sunday. To cap the whirlwind trip, Bellarmine returns to the Bluegrass State and faces the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
The Knights are heading into “The Gauntlet” on a good note, having romped to a 40-point win over Campbellsville-Harrodsburg in their last outing, which was played in Knights Hall and gave Coach Scott Davenport career win number 400. With Davenport reaching that milestone, Bellarmine is just one of nine Division I schools that can boast both their men’s and women’s head basketball coaches have 400 or more wins. Bellarmine Women’s Head Coach Chancellor Dugan has amassed 472 wins in her illustrious career.
In facing Clemson on Friday at 7 p.m., the Knights will be squaring off against an ACC team for the second time this season after opening the year with a 67-66 win over the Louisville Cardinals. The Tigers enter Friday’s game with the same record as Bellarmine, 2-1.
Clemson opened with a home win over The Citadel before dropping a two-point decision on the road at South Carolina. The Tigers most recent action was an 81-70 triumph over USC-Upstate on Tuesday at home in Littlejohn Coliseum.
Ranked 11th in the ACC preseason poll, Clemson is coming off a 17-16 season, which included an 8-12 mark in league play. The good news for Coach Brad Brownell is that he welcomes back a veteran team highlighted by 6-10 junior center PJ Hall, who was recently named to the Karem Abdul Jabbar Award Watch List. (The award honors the nation’s top center.) Hall, who is coming back from off season surgery, was tabbed as second team All-ACC performer after averaging 15.5 points per game last season.
Brownell and the Tigers also have 6-3 guard Chase Hunter back in the lineup. Listed as a junior, Hunter is actually in his fourth season in the Clemson program, and he’s started the season with a bang, averaging 18.7 points and drilling seven of his 11 treys on the season. He also leads the team in assists, averaging five per game. Also returning in the backcourt for Clemson is Newburgh, Indiana native Alex Hemenway, who has started all three games for the Tigers. Hailing from the same high school (Castle) that produced Bellarmine national champion Luke Sprague, Hemenway is averaging 9.3 points a game this year.
Another veteran player returning for Clemson is 6-8 graduate student Hunter Tyson, who elected to use his “COVID year” and play this season. That decision is paying off for the Tigers as Tyson leads the team in rebounding at 9.7 per game and is putting up 12.3 points per contest as well.
One of the newcomers Brownell is relying on this season is 6-3 guard Brevin Galloway. While a newcomer to the Clemson program, Galloway is a graduate transfer who made stops at Boston College and the College of Charleston as an undergraduate. He’s making a solid transition to the Clemson program, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds a game this year.
Friday’s game will be the first meeting between Clemson and Bellarmine, but it won’t be Brownell’s first action against the Knights. A native of Evansville, Indiana and a graduate of Division III DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana, Brownell spent the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Indianapolis. During his time at UIndy, the Greyhounds went 3-1 against the Knights in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
Like Clemson, Bellarmine also welcomes back a veteran team. However, it is a true freshman who has emerged as the scoring leader for the Knights over the first three games. Peter Suder, out of Carmel (IN) High School, earned a spot in the starting lineup for the Bellarmine opener against Louisville, and although he failed to score against the Cardinals, he followed up by pouring in 24 points against Morehead and dropping in 22 in just 21 minutes against Campbellsville-Harrodsburg. A 6-5 guard, Suder also is second on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg) and is tied for the team lead in assists with six.
Bellarmine, which finished 20-13 last year and captured the ASUN Conference championship, balances Suder’s youth with graduate student Juston Betz in the backcourt. Actually in his sixth season with the Knights program thanks redshirting as a freshman and utilizing his “COVID year,” Betz was voted the 2022-23 ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Through three games, he’s leading the Knights in rebounding at 4.7 per game and is one of four Knights with six assists.
Seniors Bash Wieland and Garrett Tipton also provide leadership to the Bellarmine starting five, and they rank second and third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 and 8.7 points per game respectively. Tipton and Wieland both established their career highs for points in a game in the season opener against Louisville. Tipton tallied 21 and Wieland knocked down 11 of 12 free throws and finished with 13 points.
Sophomore Curt Hopf rounds out the Bellarmine starting lineup. The 6-8 Hopf earned his stripes last season as a true freshman going up against the likes of Purdue’s Zach Edey and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme (and Chet Holmgren). This year, he’s putting up seven points and three rebounds per game.
In addition to the starters, Davenport has been getting solid minutes from 6-10 forwards Sam DeVault and Langdon Hatton in the front court, and 6-7 Nick Thelen made his season debut in Monday’s win after missing most of last season with an injury.
In the back court, 6-5 senior Alec Pfriem-a starter for most of last season before missing the final month with an injury-also has been logging quality court time for the Knights (6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 apg). Redshirt freshman Ben Johnson also has played in all three contests this year. Kentucky High School’s Mr. Basketball his senior year, Johnson is averaging 6.7 points per game and has nailed half of his 10 shots from beyond the arc this year.
Friday’s game will air on the ACC Network Extra and will be available to stream on ESPN+. Bellarmine fans can get the radio call on ESPN 680-AM/105.7-FM with Doug Ormay on play-by-play and Mark Bugg providing color commentary.
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