Friday, February 18, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - In arguably its most inspired performance of the season, Belmont men's basketball defeated East Tennessee State, 68-58, Thursday night.

The Bruins would have to alter their script this evening, as a trademark quick start would not be forthcoming.

ETSU rode the play of Isiah Brown to a 16-9 lead six minutes in. And though turnovers would plague the Bruins early, solid outside shooting kept the team in the game. Three-point field goals each from sophomore Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.), sophomore Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas), senior Jordan Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore Brandon Baker (Milford, Ohio) enabled Belmont to get within 16-12.

Brown would answer with four more points, before three Justin Tubbs free throws stretched the margin to nine, 23-14, with 8:22 left in the half.

Through the offensive struggles, Belmont's defense tightened. The Bruins held ETSU without a field goal for nearly eight and a half minutes late in the first half. Belmont inched within 23-19 on another three-pointer from Clark, but simply could not string scores together.

After two free throws from junior Scott Saunders (New Orleans, La.) and two defensive stops, Belmont appeared poised to escape the first half down no worse than five points.

But as the clock winded down, Brown stole a Bruin pass and found Mike Smith downcourt. Smith would be fouled on his three-point attempt with 0.9 seconds left in the half.

Smith made two of three free throws to give the Bucs a 31-24 lead at halftime.