Thursday, January 15, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The script was similar, almost to the point of plagiarism. The Belmont Bruins, perpetual feisty upstarts in dark blue uniforms, were standing toe-to-toe with another power conference opponent.

With a 10-0 run out of halftime, Belmont took control of its tilt with Tennessee, matching every second-stanza Vols run with a burst of its own. But in the end, key turnovers and missed free throws sealed a losing fate.

"That was definitely our most consistent effort of the year," said Belmont head coach Rick Byrd of his team's 79-77 loss in Knoxville on Dec. 20. "It was anybody's ballgame. We fell behind a little bit, came back, and we just didn't take advantage of the opportunities at the end. So yes, the trip to Tennessee was very similar to the Duke game in a lot of ways."

"The Duke game," of course, refers to the contest that put the Bruins on the national map last spring. On the first day of the first round of the 2008 NCAA tournament, as America anticipated the first major upset of the Big Dance, 15th-seeded Belmont very nearly obliged.

Byrd's team didn't back down for over 39 minutes and held the ball under the Blue Devils' basket with 11.9 seconds to go and a one-point lead. When DeMarcus Nelson stole the inbounds pass, and later scored a running layup for a 71-70 final, Duke avoided becoming just the fifth No. 2 seed to fall in the first round.

But heartbreak was short-lived for the three-time Atlantic Sun champions, who had lost by a combined 59 points in their previous two NCAA appearances against UCLA and Georgetown. During the summer, expectations were high for a return to the Big Dance and a fourth conference championship in just eight years since rising from the ranks of the independents.

A trio of seniors who already have three NCAA tournaments under their belts leads the 2008-09 version: 6-foot-8 forward Matthew Dotson, 3-point shooter Andy Wicke and defensive specialist Henry Harris. As such, Belmont was an easy pick as preseason favorite to pull off the A-Sun four-peat.