Monday, November 13, 2006

NASHVILLE, TENN. - Despite rallying from an early double-digit deficit to take a second half lead, Belmont fell to defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion UNC-Wilmington, 88-83, in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament from the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The contest was the A-Sun Game of the Week.

With sophomore Henry Harris (Nashville, Tenn.) making his first career start at point guard, Belmont scored the first bucket of the game on a nice post move from Boomer Herndon (Nashville, Tenn.). But behind five early points from Daniel Fountain, UNC-Wilmington scored the next ten points to race out, 10-2.

Sophomore Shane Dansby (Pegram, Tenn.) provided a nice lift off the bench, hitting consecutive jumpers to pull the Bruins within six, 15-9. But Belmont couldn’t find an offensive rhythm; from three-pointers wiped away due to moving screens to misconnections on interior passes, the Bruins were just a hair off in the first ten minutes.