by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 1, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Belmont basketball coach Rick Byrd is retiring, and it’s not an April Fools’ joke. The longtime Bruin head coach announced the news in a statement posted on the school’s athletics website Monday. “For the past 33 years, it has been my privilege to work with, and for, a remarkable community of men and women at Belmont University,” Byrd said. “Throughout my tenure as men’s basketball coach, our program has received great support from Belmont’s administration, faculty, staff and students. For this, I am forever grateful. “Personally, I have been the beneficiary of a very supportive family that I could count on every single day, a loyal circle of friends who consistently offered encouragement, and a terrific fan base that has embraced our program and our players for over three decades. Most importantly, it has been an honor to coach the young men that have brought credit to Belmont University, not only by how they played the game, but how they represented our university all over our country.” Byrd won his first NCAA tournament game March 19 with a 81-70 victory over Temple in the First Four. The Bruins then lost a 79-77 heartbreaker to Maryland in the second round two days later. The Knoxville native won 805 career games, which ranks 12th all-time among Division I coaches. He served as head coach at Lincoln Memorial and Maryville College before spending 33 seasons as the Belmont skipper. He transitioned the program from NAIA to NCAA Division I in the late 1990s and helped it rise to national prominence. Under Byrd’s leadership, the Bruins made eight NCAA tournament appearances in the last 14 years....
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 6, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
This year’s Lipscomb basketball team may be one of the most talented the school has ever assembled. They just won’t be remembered by their Belmont performances. Although senior Nathan Moran had a chance to win it with a fadeaway three as the clock expired, the Bruins played like the better team for most of what became a 76-74 Belmont victory at the Curb Event Center Tuesday night. This one hurts a bit more because it came less than three weeks after an 87-83 home loss to the Bruins on Nov. 15. The Bisons are now 6-2, with both defeats at the hands of their archrival. Lipscomb also missed out on two opportunities for quality wins because Belmont (7-1) appears to be primed for a stellar year and possibly an OVC title. But these losses won’t define Lipscomb’s season. In fact, the very opposite is true. Short of a near-perfect season, the Bisons won’t be in consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They must win the ASUN tournament title or they’ll be heading to the NIT, CIT or watching March basketball from home, regardless of how the rest of the regular season goes. That’s because the ASUN is simply too weak of a conference. Only four of the nine ASUN teams are currently in the top 250 of the NCAA’s new NET ranking system. Lipscomb’s strength of schedule will diminish as it enters ASUN play, and its chances for quality wins will be minimal. But Tuesday’s Battle of the Boulevard wasn’t all bad. Lipscomb didn’t play its best basketball yet still managed to give the Bruins all...
by Spencer Boehme | Dec 5, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Two installments of the Battle of the Boulevard brought two heartbreaking finishes for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. That’s the story after the Belmont Bruins (7-1) bested the Lipscomb Bisons (6-2) by a score of 76-74 in a crowded Curb Event Center Tuesday night. Down by two, Lipscomb had 0.8 seconds to score a game-tying or a game-winning shot off a throw-in from the goal side, but redshirt senior guard Nate Moran missed a three-point attempt that bounced around the rim and fell to the floor with no time left. “It was a good shot by a good shooter, and it didn’t go in,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said. “And so we lost.” Lipscomb’s starting five brought a mixed bag to the court. Senior forward Rob Marberry was the only player who scored more than 10 points for the Bisons, bringing in 26 points and four assists. He also tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. On the flip side, senior guard Garrison Mathews scored just five points, and senior forward Eli Pepper committed five fouls and exited the contest with 9:57 remaining. “I’ll give Belmont a lot of credit for doing a great job guarding [Mathews],” Alexander said. “And [I’ll] give Garrison a lot of credit for just staying within the game and taking what came to him instead of trying to do too much.” Alexander also said that Pepper “gives us so much versatility defensively, that we were scrambling a little bit.” Meanwhile, Belmont freshman center Nick Muszynski dropped a team-leading 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The first half was incredibly competitive. With 9:43...
by Spencer Boehme | Nov 16, 2018 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
Allen Arena was crowded with predominantly Bison fans for Thursday night’s edition of the Battle of the Boulevard. But the Belmont faithful traveled two miles down the road, took over a couple of sections and made their presence known. The trip down Belmont Boulevard paid off, as the Bruins (3-0) beat the Bisons (2-1) by a score of 87-83. The Bisons nearly overcame a 19-point deficit, but a late-game turnover with nine seconds left prevented that from happening. “They didn’t do anything at all that surprised us,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “And I’m sure we didn’t do anything at all that surprised them. That’s just…it’s a matter of who executes the best, and that’s usually the team that wins.” Senior guard Garrison Mathews finished with a team-high 27 points for Lipscomb. Meanwhile, Belmont freshman forward and Nashville native Caleb Hollander posted a 21-point performance, and he also had the play of the game when he forced the game-sealing turnover against junior guard Kenny Cooper. The first half was a tale of momentum swings. Belmont started out hot with a 15-5 lead, but the Bisons responded with a 25-9 run. The Bruins eventually went on a 13-4 run to take a 37-34 halftime lead. Fast-forward ten minutes through the second half. During a media timeout with 10:57 left, the Bruins held their largest lead of the game at 19 points, 65-46. “The beginning of the game, I just didn’t think we played with enough energy,” Alexander said. “And then the beginning of the second half, we didn’t guard their actions very well. They scored possession after-possession on ball screens,...
by Charlie Bateman | Aug 29, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s soccer team took a 2-0 loss to Belmont in the season opener this Friday night at Rose Park. Sophomore Rashad Hyacenth scored the first goal on a free kick for the Belmont Bruins in the ninth minute. Hyacenth scored his second goal of the match in the 78th minute. “Hyacenth did a great job of finding the ball throughout the game,” Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow said. Morrow also said he was was very impressed with Belmont’s defense. “They have eleven guys that are committed to playing a strong defense,” Morrow said. “We had a lot of the ball, but we struggled to break Belmont down defensively.” Morrow said that his team is working with many injuries but expects to get better as the season progresses. Lipscomb will return to action this Sunday for the home opener against Eastern Illinois. The game will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. Photo by Sam...
