Men's Basketball Falls to Richmond

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball dropped an 84-76 decision to Richmond Wednesday night from the Curb Event Center.
 
In a game featuring four ties and 14 lead changes, Richmond scored 11 of the game's final 13 points in returning the favor after Belmont won at the Spiders last season.
 
Jaden Daughtry's baseline basket with 1:37 left gave Richmond a 75-74 lead.
 
After an exchange of defensive stops, Will Johnston banked in an end-of-shot-clock 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
 
Belmont labored to find an offensive rhythm in the second half as uncharacteristic rimmed-out shots and untimely turnovers denoted play.
 
Richmond received strong play from David Thomas to yield three leads of six points in the first seven minutes.
 
3-pointer from Tyler Lundblade, Nic McClain, and Win Miller gave Belmont a 19-16 lead as both teams sought to turn defensive stops into early offense.
 
Baskets from Brigham Rogers and Sam Orme, and four more points from McClain increased the margin to nine, 27-18, with 8:51 left in the first half.
 
Rogers and Bez Jenkins battled foul trouble and their absences impacted Belmont's defensive intensity and overall flow.
 
Thomas and Aiden Argabright led a 13-2 Richmond run to help the visitors retake the lead.
 
A Drew Scharnowski dunk and a McClain 3-pointer put Belmont ahead, 42-36, with 53 seconds left.
 
Following a Johnston short jump shot, Scharnowski would make one free throw with 1.7 seconds left.
 
His second free throw would rim off and Richmond forward Mike Walz would bank in a 75-footer at the first-half horn to close Belmont's lead to 43-41 at halftime.
 
Belmont shot 53 percent (17-for-32) in the first half and scored 22 points in the paint.
 
McClain led Belmont with 15 first-half points.
 
After Lundblade opened the second half with two free throws, 3-pointers from Johnston and Thomas gave Richmond a 49-45 lead with 18:12 left.
 
Jack Smiley confidently gave the Bruins a lift, scoring seven straight points in 49 seconds to put Belmont back ahead.
 
Both teams exchanged scoring bursts midway through the second half, as the lead seesawed back and forth.
 
A Lundblade 3-pointer gave Belmont a 60-59 lead with 12:44 remaining.
 
Johnston and Thomas answered back before an Eoin Dillon 3-pointer, a steal and score from Jenkins, and a baseline dunk from Rogers made the score 70-67 with 5:41 left.
 
The lead would change hands four more times in a 1:21 span, as a layin from Sam Orme gave Belmont a 74-73 lead with 3:21 left.
 
From there, Belmont went without a field goal down the stretch, as the aforementioned Daughtry basket with 1:37 left gave Richmond the lead to stay.
 
Lundblade had a 3-pointer dip off with 54 seconds left before Johnston's final dramatics.
 
All told, Belmont shot 47 percent (29-for-62) from the field and outrebounded Richmond 37-32 – the first team to outrebound Richmond this season.
 
Richmond went 14-for-25 from 3-point distance and was plus-nine from the free throw line.
 
McClain led three Belmont players in double figures with 19 points. He had four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
 
Lundblade and Smiley each scored 10.
 
Dillon had a career-high nine points.
 
Johnston led Richmond (7-1) with 19 points.
 
Belmont (8-1) returns to game action Sunday, Dec. 7 at Middle Tennessee.
 
Belmont season tickets – which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule – are on sale now at belmontbruins.com/tickets. 
 
To become a Bruin Club member, contact Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.
 
Belmont University men's basketball has been a postseason fixture for the last two decades, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (behind Gonzaga and Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and Oregon) and 19 or more games in 20 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State). Belmont is among select programs with two or more first-round selections in the NBA Draft over the last six years (Ben Sheppard, Dylan Windler). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of its existence. Belmont is the only NCAA Division I institution in America whose men's and women's basketball programs have won 20 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons.
 
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