March 23, 2009

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NORFOLK, VA - - Old Dominion rallied to defeat Belmont in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Quarterfinals, 70-62, Monday night.

After earning their first postseason victory of the NCAA era last Wednesday night at Evansville, the Bruins confronted a tall order - literally and figuratively - in the tradition-rich Monarchs of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The game would pit Belmont's perimeter attack against Old Dominion's inside game.

Both teams came out uneasy on the offensive end, as tentative passes and tight shooting marked the first four minutes. Nevertheless, a straight-on three-pointer from senior Shane Dansby (Pegram, Tenn.) gave the Bruins an early 5-1 lead.

However, much like their opening round CIT game at Evansville, Belmont confronted early foul difficulties. Senior point guard and Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Alex Renfroe (Hermitage, Tenn.) picked up his second personal foul at the 16:33 mark of the first half, forcing him to the bench - the worst place imaginable for Bruin fans.

However, the Bruins scrapped and clawed their way forward, showcasing some of their best team defense and secondary help defense of the season.

After senior Andy Wicke (Hendersonville, Tenn.) hit consecutive three-pointers to give Belmont the lead, Old Dominion answered with seven straight points to seize a 16-11 lead with 9:06 in the half.

Following a Gerald Lee layin, freshman Jonny Rice (Naperville, Ill.), Renfroe and Dansby strung together three straight three-pointers to lift Belmont to a 24-18 edge.

Two free throws right before intermission by Renfroe carried the Bruins into the locker room up four, 34-30.

Belmont limited the Monarchs to 30 percent shooting in the opening half. But eight first half turnovers and 14 misfires from long range - 7-for-21 in all - kept Belmont from building a larger lead.

Four interiors baskets quickly out of the locker room helped Old Dominion score eight of the first 10 points of the second half.

But following a Rick Byrd timeout, Belmont settled in a reestablished itself. Renfroe and freshman Mick Hedgepeth combined for nine points during a 12-0 Belmont run that lifted the Bruins to their largest lead of 10, 48-38, with 14:!3 to go.

Yet after forcing the Monarchs to the perimeter and swarming the ODU post game, Belmont watched Old Dominion catch fire.

After missing its first 11 three-point attempts, Old Dominion got consecutive three-pointers from Darius James to slice the Belmont lead to 48-44 with 13:20 left.

Junior Keaton Belcher (Butler, Ky.) answered for Belmont with a three-pointer over the Monarch zone to extend the margin back to seven, 51-44, with 12:07 left.

From there, the Bruins went ice cold. Despite clean looks against the Old Dominion zone, Belmont made just one field goal over the next six and a half minutes.

That set the stage for a familiar face to steal the show. Monarch reserve Jonathan Adams - a swingman from the Baylor School in Chattanooga who played AAU ball with several of Belmont's upperclassmen - sank a three-pointer to give Old Dominion a 55-54 lead with 6:51 left.

Following a Kent Bazemore layin, Wicke sank a deep three-pointer in transition off a nice Renfroe feed to tie the score at 57 with 4:37 remaining.

One free throw from sophomore Jon House (Guelph, Ont., Canada) gave Belmont a 58-57 edge with 3:45 to go - unfortunately, the team's final lead of the game.

Adams answered with a contested pullup jumper - and after a Dansby missed baseline three-pointer - and a trey to give the Monarchs a 62-58 lead with 2:54 left.

Dotson then missed a clean look on Belmont's next possession. Following a rare Adams misfire, Ben Finney saved an offensive rebound on the baseline. James and Renfroe battled for the loose ball in front of the press table before Frank Hassell found Lee for an uncontested layin, giving the Monarchs a 64-58 lead with 2:00 left.

Hedgepeth replied with a confident - albeit unexpected - baseline three-pointer to cut the margin in half, 64-61, with 1:36 left.

But in need of a defensive stop, the Bruins watched in horror as Adams - a 27 percent three-point shooter on the season - buried his third triple at the end of the shot clock, lifting Old Dominion to a 67-61 lead with 1:03 to go.

After one Hedgepeth free throw, Adams missed the front end of an ODU one-and-one to give the Bruins' new life.

But Dotson missed a three-point attempt and Dansby's offensive rebound tip-in attempt rimmed out. Adams made one free throw with 22 seconds to go to extend the Monarch lead to six.

A Belmont giveaway and two Finney free throws ended the scoring - what proved to be Old Dominion's largest lead of the game.

For the game, Belmont shot 37 percent (22-for-60) - including 12-for-38 from three-point territory. The 38 attempts were one off a season-high.

Wicke led Belmont with 14 points. His four made three-point field goals gave him 303 for his career - third all-time in Atlantic Sun Conference history.

Hedgepeth added 10 points and nine rebounds. Renfroe had nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Lee led Old Dominion (23-10) with 14 points.

The Monarchs - one of the nation's top offensive rebounding teams - had 18 offensive rebounds on the night.

Belmont ends the season 20-13; its fourth consecutive 20+ win season.