MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - - Despite playing without its starting backcourt, Belmont University men's basketball recorded one of the biggest wins in recent memory, winning at Middle Tennessee, 70-58, Tuesday night.
With junior Reece Chamberlain (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) and sophomore Craig Bradshaw (Ridgetop, Tenn.) unavailable due to injury, the Bruins tightened the rotation and cobbled together a truly inspiring wire-to-wire win.
Facing a formidable foe in the host Blue Raiders, who unveiled new home black uniforms and promoted a 'Blackout Night' for fans in attendance, Belmont needed a strong start.
With freshman Caleb Chowbay (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) making his first career start, an interior basket from senior Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) and a three-pointer from senior Drew Windler (South Milwaukee, Wisc.) got the Bruins going early.
After Shawn Jones got Middle Tennessee within 5-4 at the 18:08, Belmont proceeded to hold the hosts scoreless for an eight-minute stretch.
Windler capped the 13-0 run with another baseline three-pointer to give the Bruins an 18-4 edge eight and a half minutes in.
In fact, Belmont's purposeful play compelled Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis to call three timeouts before the midway point of the first half.
After Jaqawn Raymond ended the Blue Raider drought, senior J.J. Mann buried a wing three-pointer to push the Belmont advantage to 21-5.
The Bruins were tough, united, and playing unquestionably their best basketball of the season.
With head coach Rick Byrd expertly rotating players in and out of the lineup around media timeouts, the Bruins maintained a high level of play.
Foul trouble for Windler and freshman Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) halted some of the offensive momentum, and Middle Tennessee inched within 27-22 on a Tweety Knight layin.
But Jenkins responded with a layin of his own, and Belmont closed with a key defensive stop to lead by seven at halftime.
Belmont shot 39 percent (11-for-28) from the field in the opening 20 minutes - including 3-for-10 from three-point distance. The Bruins outrebounded Middle Tennessee, 18-15, in the first half, and handled switching Blue Raider defenses well, committing just six turnovers.
Five quick points from Mann carried the margin to 34-24 with 18:57 remaining.
However, Bradds, Jenkins and Windler each picked up their third personal fouls prior to the under 16 media timeout.
Nevertheless, Belmont received timely contributions off the bench from junior Holden Mobley (Nashville, Tenn.), junior Chad Lang (Marietta, Ga.) and sophomore Jeff Laidig (Mishawaka, Ind.) to preserve a working margin.
In fact, another Mann three-pointer and a layin from Lang gave Belmont a 41-31 advantage with 14:29 left.
The lead stayed between seven and 10 points as the Blue Raiders searched for an offensive rhythm against strong Belmont team defense.
But with Windler and Bradds picking up their fourth personal fouls in a two second span with over 12 minutes remaining, concerns grew.
Two free throws from Kerry Hammonds and a tip slam from Jones narrowed the margin to 48-45 with 10:08 left.
Suddenly, the Murphy Center crowd was alive, and momentum was shifting in Middle Tennessee's favor.
But Laidig calmly answered with a gigantic baseline three-pointer to push the Bruin lead back to six, 51-45, with 10:03 left.
Amazingly, it would prove to be Belmont's final field goal of the game.
The Blue Raiders closed to 54-50 with 5:06 left on a Hammonds baseline three-pointer, but after an exchange of defensive stops, Mann provided a steal and two free throws to push the lead back to six.
The Bruins appeared to get another defensive stop at the under four timeout, but as Bradds went to retrieve a ball that slipped out of Neiko Hunter's hands, a collison with Eric Wortham ensued, with the ball bouncing right back to Hunter for an easy slam and a 56-52 score with 3:36 remaining.
A charging call on Windler on Belmont's next offensive possession ended his evening, before Mann once again delivered a clutch play, stealing the ball from Jones on a baseline drive.
Chowbay would proceed to make two free throws with 2:31 left to stretch the margin back to six, 58-52.
The Bruins would play more strong defense, and go 12-for-16 from the free throw line in the final 2:10 to secure the victory.
All told, shot 39 percent (19-for-49) from the field - including 7-for-20 from three-point distance. The Bruins forced 15 turnovers, and shot 25-for-32 from the free throw line.
Mann led Belmont with a career-high 32 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Jones led Middle Tennessee (6-2) with 21 points.
The Bruins have now won six of the last seven meetings with the Blue Raiders.
Belmont (8-2) returns to game action following semester exams Wednesday, Dec. 11 against Fairfield. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center.
The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network and 104.5 The Zone. Live video streaming will be available via the OVC Digital Network. In-game updates will be provided via Twitter @BelmontMBB.
NOTES: The victory snapped Middle Tennessee's 33 game regular season home court win streak and 21 game overall home court win streak ... In fact, the Bruins book-ended the 33 game streak, winning at the Murphy Center two years ago...The victory without the services of Chamberlain and Bradshaw marks the latest victory away from home for Belmont without key players: Belmont won at IUPUI Nov. 18, 2006 without Andy Wicke ('09)...Belmont won at Lipscomb Jan. 12, 2008 without Justin Hare ('08)...Belmont won at Mercer Feb. 25, 2012 without Kerron Johnson ('13) and Blake Jenkins...Belmont won against Jacksonville in the 2012 Atlantic Sun Tournament Quarterfinals without Ian Clark ('13)...Belmont outscored Middle Tennessee, 14-5, in points off turnovers...Mann scored 25 second half points; believed to be the most points scored in a single-half by a Belmont player in the program's NCAA Divison I era.
