Monday, January 11, 2010

The first hardwood edition of the “Battle of the Boulevard” takes place at Lipscomb as the Bisons face Belmont for the 125th time, owning a 69-55 series advantage. Since Lipscomb joined the A-Sun in 2003, Belmont leads 8-5 with five of the games going overtime.

Lipscomb has won four of the last five meetings held in Allen Arena. Belmont’s lone victory during that span came in 2008 as the Bruins held on for a 99-91 victory in double overtime. Since the series started again in the 2003-04 season, five of the 13 Belmont-Lipscomb games have ended up going into overtime, more than other series in Division I for that time span.

Lipscomb’s Adnan Hodzic enters the week having scored in double figures in 41 straight games, the nation’s longest active streak. Hodzic averages 21.3 points per game and shoots 59.6 percent He faces Belmont’s inside duo of Mick Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders. The pair combines to average 21.9 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 57.6 percent.

Belmont had to replace a senior class that included Player of the Year Alex Renfroe, as well as lineup mainstays Andy Wicke, Shane Dansby and Matthew Dotson. Clark has stepped into the lineup, he has started all 15 games, and emerged as the Bruins’ leading scorer. He trails only Kennesaw State’s Markeith Cummings among A-Sun freshmen in terms of scoring and his 13.9 average current ranks second to Wes Burtner among Belmont freshmen, since the program moved up to Division I.

For those outside the CSS markets, catch all the action on ASun.TV, ESPN360.com or on ESPN Full Court. Fans can Interact with one and other courtesy the CoverItLive blog.