Belmont Wins by 23 in Season Opener

Tyler Lundblade, surveys the court at the top of the 3-point arc, Greer Patten

Belmont men’s basketball season kicked off with a dominant 93-70 performance against Maryville College. 

The Bruins came into the season with a bit of a rocky foundation losing key contributors Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Cade Tyson and Malik Dia to the transfer portal. These losses were apparent in the first half of Belmont’s game. 

The Bruins would open the game battling with the Scots for any sort of advantage on the scoreboard. 

The Scots would open with an early 5-0 lead off two early buckets from Reed Kemp and Collin Smith. 

Sophomore Brigham Rogers would battle the Bruins back in with four straight points and would lead all Bruins with 10 on the half. 

But the Scots would continue their offensive output in the first half with a 9-5 run. 

The Bruins would trade leads four times in the first half with Maryville. 

“It took us a while to settle in and just put some possessions together, but I’m proud of the way we responded to a not-very-good first half,” said head coach Casey Alexander. 

The Bruins and Scots would continue to battle through the first half ending with a 40-43 score before heading to the locker rooms. 

Belmont would come into the second half with renewed energy getting off three straight baskets that would kick start a 27-11 run against the Scots. 

Jonathan Pierre, drives against the Maryville defense, Greer Patten

Isaiah Walker would lead the Bruins with a perfect second half going 6-6 from the field and 2-2 with 3-pointers. 

It certainly also helped that the Bruins only allowed 27 points from the Scots in the second half. 

“We definitely had fewer breakdowns on the defensive end, and we were able to string some stops together we contested around the rim far better without fouling,” said Alexander. “That led to some easier baskets on our end of the floor.” 

This would ultimately be too much for the Scots as they would fall behind and ultimately end up losing the game. 

Belmont's student section cheering on the Bruins, Greer Patten

The Bruins will look to their next game Friday against Furman University at the Curb Event Center. 

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This article was written by Braden Simmons