Sunday, January 30, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind a season-high 13 three-point field goals and more strong defense, Belmont men's basketball defeated Stetson, 82-64, Sunday to give head coach Rick Byrd career victory No. 600.

The Bruins - which coincidentally provided Byrd with his 500th career victory at Belmont Jan. 3 at the same Hatter squad - would labor somewhat early against Stetson's trademark halfcourt zone defense.

A baseline three-pointer from Ridge Graham and a bank shot from Steve Forbes gave Stetson a 14-9 lead six minutes into the game.

But behind timely contributions from sophomore Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) and freshman J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.), Belmont began to showcase its remarkable ability to turn turnovers or long rebounds into points.

Trailing 18-17 midway through the half, the Bruins got consecutive baskets from sophomore Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) before senior Jordan Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) tacked on a three-pointer to give Belmont a 24-18 edge.

As defensive stops were strung together - Belmont held the Hatters to two made field goals the final 9:31 of the first half - the Bruins also strung together makes from behind the arc.

In total, the Bruins made four three-pointers in the final 1:49 of the first half, one each from sophomore Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) and junior Drew Hanlen (St. Louis, Mo.) and two more from Campbell.

The final Campbell three-pointer beat the first half buzzer to complete a 24-7 Bruin run and lift Belmont to a 41-25 halftime lead.

With the victory, Belmont records its sixth 20-plus win season in the last eight years, reaching 20 wins faster than any other team in the program's NCAA era.

As for Byrd, he becomes one of 12 active head coaches in NCAA Division I men's basketball with 600 or more career victories:

* Mike Krzyzewski, Duke - 887
* Jim Boeheim, Syracuse - 847
* Jim Calhoun, Connecticut - 840
* Bob Huggins, West Virginia - 684
* Gary Williams, Maryland - 662
* Jerry Slocum, Youngstown State - 636
* Homer Drew, Valparaiso - 633
* Roy Williams, North Carolina - 629
* Bo Ryan, Wisconsin - 615
* Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina - 606
* Mike Montgomery, California - 605
* Rick Byrd, Belmont - 600

Byrd also becomes the 36th head coach all-time in NCAA Division I men's basketball with 600 or more victories (NOTE: NCAA record book stipulates a minimum of 10 years coaching at the Division I level to qualify).