LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Asbury Men's Basketball team traveled to Louisville, KY on Thursday night to take on the Division 1 Bellarmine Knights in a mid-season exhibition game. This matchup was played in the KFC Yum! Center, which was a new location for Bellarmine as well as they typically play their home games in Freedom Hall. 

It was definitely a larger than usual test for the Eagles, but they came out firing, finding themselves within 4 with 7 minutes to go in the first half. John Shoulders was a key part of this first-half success as he went into the locker room with 12 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc. 

Bellarmine would stretch their lead in the second half with suffocating defense and efficient offense. AU continued to battle however until the very end against a very impressive Bellarmine team, leaving the final score at Asbury 55 - Bellarmine 87. 
 

* John Shoulders would end the night with 12 points on four 3's, also grabbing 4 rebounds

* Nick Fort led the Eagles in scoring with 13

* Eric Powell was all over the court with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists

* Dylan Penn would lead Bellarmine with 18 points and 11 rebounds

* John Shoulders knocked down four 3's in the first half

* AU and Bellarmine would equal on the night making 9 three-pointers apiece

* Bellarmine had an impressive 23 assists on the night

"Any time we get an opportunity to compete against Division I programs, it's such an exciting experience for our guys. That was magnified tonight by us also getting to play at the KFC Yum! Center and on ESPN. Bellarmine has a long tradition of excellence. They really pushed us to have to step up and do some things well to stay in the game. We got better in a few areas tonight. We're proud of our guy's effort. They battled for 40 minutes."
-Associate Head Coach Russ Abner
 

AU will have a short break, but will then travel to Blackburn College in IL. on Dec. 22.