Jan. 12, 2009

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NASHVILLE, TENN. - - This game never disappoints. Full of passion and hotly-contested possessions, Belmont University men's basketball rode the play of senior captain Andy Wicke (Hendersonville, Tenn.) to earn a 79-74 victory over Lipscomb Monday night.

The 123rd installment of the `Battle of the Boulevard' proved to be a contrast in experience and style of play. The Bruins' roster sports seven upperclassmen, compared to just two for the Bisons. Moreover, Belmont relies heavily on outside shooting while Lipscomb's offense is centered around penetration and post play.

But records and statistics matter little in this intense series, with both teams intimately familiar with the players and schemes.

As has been the case much of the season, Belmont got off quickly. A short bank shot from sophomore Jon House (Guelph, Ont., Canada) gave the Bruins a 10-2 lead three minutes in.

But Lipscomb answered with eight straight points of its own, capped by a driving score from Jimmy Oden. The game of spurts swung back in Belmont's favor, as the Bruins scored 11 of the next 13 points. A baseline drive from senior Henry Harris (Nashville, Tenn.) and one free throw from senior Shane Dansby (Pegram, Tenn.) gave the Bruins a 21-12 edge midway through the first half.

Yet fellow senior Alex Renfroe (Hermitage, Tenn.) picked up his second foul soon after, and the Belmont offense would take a different look with the dynamic point guard relegated to the bench. Drew Hanlen (St. Louis, Mo.), Belmont went four-plus minutes without a field goal.

Five straight points from Josh Slater to close the first half sent the teams to the locker room all square at 35.

It was a peculiar first half, as Lipscomb made five three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, compared to just four for usually on-target Belmont. Dansby led Belmont with nine first half points. However, Lipscomb held a decisive 24-14 rebounding advantage.

Much like the start of the game, the Bruins came out firing on all cylinders. Stingy defense and two three-pointers from Wicke highlighted a 15-3 Bruin run to open the second half as Belmont seized a 50-38 advantage with 15:13 to go.

Then following a Jon House steal, senior Matthew Dotson (Centerville, Tenn.) rimmed in-and-out a wing three-pointer that would have stretched the margin to 15. Seemingly on the verge of breaking the game open, Belmont was forced to settle back into the dogfight.

Slater answered with a deep three in transition and Brandon Brown tacked on two free throws moments later.

Twice more in the next two minutes, Wicke would bury contested triples to preserve the Bruin lead, the latter of which made the score 61-51 with 9:41 left.

But the Bisons would not back down. An off-balance banker from Slater capped a 10-0 Lipscomb run to trim the margin to one, 61-60, with 6:11 remaining.

House replied with a tough post score before Slater continued his torrid form with a three-pointer to tie things at 63-63 with 5:01 left.

But Wicke simply would not let the Bruins lose at home. A timely lob pass assist to Dotson put Belmont back up 65-63. Moments later, Wicke would steal the ball from Michael Lusk and outrace the Bison player to the basket. Though the shot was missed, Lusk was called for an intentional foul.

Wicke made both free throws to extend the lead to four, 67-63, with 4:42 to go. Wicke then stepped in front of Slater on a handoff to provide his second steal in succession, passing upcourt to Renfroe for a court-pleasing slam and a six point lead.

Renfroe added an offensive rebound putback to up the margin to six, 71-65, with 3:22 left. But the clock would be seemingly frozen in time down the stretch, as both teams battled for the win.

A Brown baseline drive got Lipscomb within 71-69 with 2:32 to go, before two Dansby free throws and a Wicke layin stretched the Belmont lead back to six, 75-69, with 1:57 left.

But Belmont could not slam the door shut from the free throw line. One-and-one misses from Renfroe and then Wicke kept Lipscomb's hopes alive.

Dotson and Adnan Hodzic traded free throws before a Hodzic jumper and one Lusk free throw got the Bisons within 77-74 with 17 seconds left.

Wicke then commanded the basketball, made both free throws after being fouled with 16 seconds left to secure the victory.

For the game, Belmont shot 46 percent from the field (26-for-57) - including 9-for-30 from three-point territory. Conversely, Lipscomb shot 44 percent from the field (23-for-52) - on a season-best 8-for-18 three-point shooting.

Wicke scored a season-high 26 points - 20 coming in the second half. He added five assists and three steals. Dansby scored 15 points with eight rebounds, while Dotson added 14. House had 10 points and five rebounds.

Slater paced Lipscomb (6-9, 2-4 Atlantic Sun) with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Belmont (9-6, 5-1 Atlantic Sun) returns to action Saturday afternoon at USC Upstate. Tip-off is set for noon CT, with all the live play-by-play action from Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram on the Bruins Sports Network and flagship 104.5 The Zone.

Live video streaming will be provided via ASun.TV.