In the most historic game yet in a historic rivalry, Belmont’s men’s basketball team defeated Lipscomb University 74-69 in a seesaw battle that went to overtime, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship and earning Belmont’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament, a/k/a “the Big Dance.”
The Bruins (20-10), tied 31-31 with Lipscomb at halftime and 58-58 at the end of regulation, won the game in overtime on the hot shooting of sophomore guard Justin Hare, who scored a career-high 32 points in the contest, including 10 points in the overtime period.
Fittingly, the game ended with the ball in Hare’s hands as he got a steal on Lipscomb’s final possession and dribbled the ball several times as the clock ran down before tossing it high in the air as the clock ran out. Hare (pictured) won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
Belmont and Lipscomb, three miles apart on Nashville’s Belmont Boulevard, have been basketball rivals for decades. The intense rivalry, called the “Battle of the Boulevard,” dates to 1953. Both schools’ men’s basketball programs were national powers in the NAIA in the 1980s and 1990s, often competing for Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference championships. Belmont moved to NCAA Division I in 1997 and Lipscomb followed three years later. Belmont now is the first to advance to the NCAA tournament.
“The fact that it was the two of us just upped the ante big time,” Belmont coach Rick Byrd told the Associated Press. “If we’d been playing Gardner-Webb or East Tennessee State we would have wanted to win bad, but we wouldn’t have gone home and listened to who won for two weeks and naturally so. And they didn’t want to have to do it either.”
Belmont Bruins Sports has the game stats here. ESPN recaps the game here and has a game photo gallery here.
More coverage:
Bruins Online: Dancing Shoes a Perfect Fit For Bruins
Tennessean: Bruins Go To NCAAs
Atlantic Sun News: Belmont Punches NCAA Dance Card with OT Thriller
The A-Sun has game photos here and here, and post-game press conference audio here.
Dancing With History
Belmont Men To Face Lipscomb For A-Sun Title, NCAA Slot
Winner of A-Sun Tournament Gets Automatic Bid to NCAA Tournament
Belmont’s men’s basketball team defeated Stetson University 72-59 in the semifinal of the 2006 Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., Friday night. The 400th victory for longtime coach Rick Byrd sets up a historic game with long-time rival and Nashville neighbor Lipscomb University in the tournament championship game today. Neither school has won the A-Sun title or gone to the NCAA since moving to Division 1 a few years ago. The winner of the A-Sun tournament gets an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The championship game is at 1:00pm central time and will be televised on ESPN2 (Nashville cable channel 29). You can also listen to it online at Bruins Live.
Psychology Faculty Present at Conference
The psychology faculty of Belmont University attended the 18th Southeastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology held in Atlanta February 24-25. Dr. Mike Sullivan presented on a symposium entitled “Effective Activities and Demonstrations for Teaching Research Methods.” Dr. Peter Giordano presented a workshop entitled “Principles of Effective Grading” and participated in a session entitled “Effective Demonstrations and Activities for the Introductory Psychology Course.”
Psychology Student Guest Speaker at Dinner
Shandus Valentine, a psychology major and honors student at Belmont University, was the guest speaker at the 50th anniversary dinner of the Tennessee Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (TICUA).
TICUA engages Tennessee’s private colleges and unversities to work collaboratively in areas of public policy, cost containment and professional development to better serve the state and its citizens. TICUA is dedicated to the preservation of student opportunity and choice in higher education.
Belmont Mansion to receive $1.58M facelift – Nashville City Paper
The Nashville City Paper reports on the beginning of a $1.58 million refurbishing of the historic Belmont Mansion on the Belmont University campus, the most comprehensive exterior restoration of the historic landmark since 1859. Scaffolding has been placed around the 152-year-old building facing Wedgewood Avenue, as crews begin to replace the stucco exterior, repaint the pink façade, and refurbish woodwork on doors and windows. Photo by Michael Krouskop. Click thumbnail to enlarge or download.)
Historic Belmont Mansion To Receive Major Restoration
$1.58 million project focuses on preservation of historic landmark
Belmont University and the Belmont Mansion Association announce the beginning of a major restoration of the historic Belmont Mansion. Listed on the national register of historic landmarks, the 152-year-old antebellum home is the architectural centerpiece of the university campus. The $1.58 million project will include the most comprehensive exterior restoration of the building since Adelicia Acklen remodeled the house in 1859.
MEDIA ALERT: U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo at Belmont Friday
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo will be on Belmont’s campus Friday, March 3, to speak about border security and immigration policy. Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who is being talked about as a possible candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, is an outspoken critic of the federal government’s current border and immigration policies. His appearance at Belmont, which is being sponsored by the Belmont Collegiate Republicans, comes as the news is filled with debate regarding Tennessee’s drivers license policies for illegal immigrants and whether a Middle Eastern government should be allowed to take over six U.S. ports.
Belmont Hosting Nashville’s Largest Latin Street Fair April 1
Fiesta Belmont features Latin music, food and dance
Fiesta Belmont: Nashville’s Latin Music Street Fair returns to Belmont University on Saturday, April 1. The street fair features a day-long schedule of continuous Latin music performances, Latin food vendors, kid’s activities, and Latin dance groups. Admission to the event, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the beautiful Belmont University campus, is free.
Read this press release in Spanish
Anfitrion Belmont University Grandiosa Feria de Musica Latina en Nashville en Abril 1, 2006 Fiesta Belmont con Música Latina, Comida y Baile.
Orlando Sentinel Editor Speaks at Belmont Monday
Hall Guided Newsday’s 9/11 Coverage
Charlotte H. Hall, senior vice president and editor of the Orlando Sentinel, speaks at Belmont University Monday as part of the New Century Journalism program’s Speakers Series for the spring semester. Hall, who oversees the Sentinel’s newsroom which serves the printed newspaper, OrlandoSentinel.com, the weekly, bilingual El Sentinel and several English- and Spanish-language television and radio partnerships, speaks at 10 a.m. Monday in the Bunch Multimedia Hall on the second floor of the library. Members of the media are invited to attend.
Belmont University Entrepreneurs to Pass the Baton
Belmont students from any major can start their own businesses with financial help from the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship. For the bold, it is a business hatchery program. More cautious entrepreneurs can apply for jobs managing businesses already established through university-student partnerships like the design studio. “We want to give all of our students a chance to experience entrepreneurship first hand,” said Jeff Cornwall, [director of the program]. – From a story in today’s Nashville City Paper which looks at transitions ahead for three student-operated businesses – Boulevard Design Studio, Reverb and Feedback – created with the help of Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship. See also, Dr. Cornwall’s related comments on his blog, The Entrepreneurial Mind.
