NewCath grad Weyer nets 14 points, but Louisville rallies past Bellarmine; NKU volleyball collects win

NKyTribune staff

LOUISVILLE — Ben Weyer and his Bellarmine University teammates made things mighty uncomfortable for Chris Mack in his Louisville coaching debut on Sunday.

Mack, the former Xavier head coach in his first season at Louisville, watched his Cardinals rally from a 40-39 deficit with 11:41 to play in the game to knock off Bellarmine, 71-60, in an exhibition contest at the KFC Yum! Center. Steven Enoch buried pair of 3-pointers to ignite the Louisville rally.

Weyer, a graduate of Newport Central Catholic, netted 14 points and dished out four assists as Bellarmine attempted to spoil Mack’s debut with the Cardinals. The junior forward drained a trio of 3-pointers and also grabbed four rebounds.

“I know that they’re a Division II team, they’re not on ESPN. But, (Bellarmine head coach) Scotty (Davenport) does an amazing job with his kids,” Mack said of Bellarmine. “They run an offense that’s very difficult to guard. The ball. It’s hopping. Their players were cutting. Their fours and fives play more on the perimeter than they do on the post, so they can get a mismatch.”

Louisville forced 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action and built a 26-18 lead at the break. V.J. King then began the second half by scoring eight points as Louisville increased its advantage to 36-26.

Bellarmine responded with a 14-3 spurt to grab a 40-39 lead with 11:41 remaining in the game. Enoch, however, hit a pair of 3-pointers and Jordan Nwora added another trey as Louisville took command and survived the upset bid.

King scored 17 points lead to Louisville, while Enoch added 14 points. Nwora and Christen Cunningham each netted 10 points for the Cardinals, who held the Knights to 35 percent shooting and scored 24 points off turnovers.

Bellarmine’s Adam Eberhard, a two-time NCAA Division II All-American, led all scorers with 21 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and added three assists.

Weyer, a native of Ft. Thomas, averaged 8.7 points last season while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor. He also made 75 percent of his free throws and buried 56 shots from 3-point range.

Bellarmine is ranked No. 1 nationally by Division II Bulletin and is the preseason favorite to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship. The Knights posted a 29-3 record in 2017-18 and captured both the GLVC regular-season and tournament titles.

NKU VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS WRIGHT STATE: Haley Libs finished with 17 kills and 12 digs on Sunday as the Northern Kentucky University volleyball team defeated Wright State, 25-21, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19, in Regents Hall.

Libs, who has collected 15 consecutive double-doubles, hit .371 for the match and tied her season’s best with four blocks. Anna Brinkmann added eight kills and 12 digs for the Norse, while Shelby Olsen dished out 26 assists, scooped up nine digs and served up two aces.

NKU hit .308 in the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead, and then attacked at a blistering .452 clip to go up two sets on the visitors. The Norse hit .292 for the match and held Wright State to a .156 hitting percentage.

Miranda Wucherer finished with 25 assists, nine kills and a .304 hitting percentage for the Norse, who improved to 15-8 overall, 7-5 in Horizon League. Wright State dropped to 12-12 overall, 4-8 in the Horizon League. NKU also avenged a loss to the Raiders on Oct. 14.

NKU plays host to Youngstown State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Regents Hall.

(Information compiled from Louisville Sports Information, NKU Athletics Communications and staff reports)