Because of the icy conditions, Bruin Blitz will not be broadcasted this week. But the sports team at the Vision still wanted to bring you up to date on the latest games and news in Belmont athletics regardless of the weather.
Men’s Basketball (16-10, 8-5 OVC)
Feb. 11 at Jacksonville State
The men’s team suffered a late-minute heartbreaker in a 72-70 loss against the Gamecocks.
The Bruins crawled back from a 15-point deficit to bring themselves within one with 16 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for Belmont, Jacksonville State knocked down the free throw and caused a turnover to seal the deal.
Craig Bradshaw surpassed the 1,000 point career mark and became the 14th NCAA-era player to reach the milestone.
Evan Bradds led the Bruins with 24 points and nine rebounds.
Feb. 14 vs. Morehead State Exactly a week after the men’s team fell at the buzzer to the Eagles, history looked like it could repeat itself for Belmont against Morehead State.
On Feb. 7, the Eagles banked a layup at the buzzer to secure the victory, shortly after the Bruins had tied the game 10 seconds earlier.
But Belmont found itself on the other side the second time around as Bradds converted a layup and free throw with 11.3 seconds left to give Belmont the 58-57 victory.
Freshman Mack Mercer led Belmont with a career-high 17 points.
The team hosts Eastern Kentucky on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Curb Event Center.
Women’s Basketball (11-15, 7-5 OVC)
Feb. 11 at Jacksonville State
The women’s basketball team pulled together a 55-52 win over Jacksonville State in its first overtime game of the season. With the win, the Bruins improved to 7-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Three Bruins reached double figures including senior Jordyn Luffman-Hartsfield with a game-high 18 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman Sally McCabe grabbed 19 rebounds and added 12 points. Senior Katie Carroll finished with 12 points.
Feb. 14 vs. Morehead State
Three days later, the team rose to occasion while also raising awareness for breast cancer as Belmont celebrated a 57-56 win over Morehead State in the annual Think Pink game.
After the Bruins led by 15 at the half, the Eagles strung together a comeback and took the lead with two minutes remaining.
But Luffman-Hartsfield found herself at the line with 15.2 seconds remaining and knocked down a pair of free throws to give Belmont its seventh victory in eight games.
The guard finished with 10 points while Carroll led the team with 11 points.
The team will complete the road portion of its schedule on Saturday against Tennessee Tech with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.
With her performance in the pair of wins, McCabe earned OVC co-freshman of the week honors on Tuesday for the second time this season. The freshman average a double-double of 10 points and 13.5 rebounds in wins over JSU and Morehead State.
Baseball (1-1)
The Belmont baseball team split a pair of games in its opening weekend of the 2015 season.
On Friday, the Bruins battled back and forth against Wright State and were down by only one run after eight innings. But the Rowdy Raiders scored seven runs powered by a grand slam in the top of the ninth to secure a 14-7 win.
Undeterred by the loss, Belmont bounced back the following day against Toledo and crushed the Rockets 18-5.
Senior Matt Beaty went 3-of-6 at the plate for the Bruins and knocked a grand slam out of the park in the eighth inning. Classmate Patrick McGrath picked up the win on the mound for Belmont.
Wednesday’s home game against Vanderbilt has been postponed until April and previously scheduled games against Ohio and Western Illinois have been canceled due to weather. The team will try to play its series against Valparaiso on Saturday.
Track and Field
The track and field teams had an impressive showing at the SU Samford Invitational and Multi held in Alabama this weekend. The men’s team gathered 23 top-50 finishes while the women added 16 top-50 finishes.
Senior Marcus Bridger-Wilkinson took second in the 800m while freshman Matthew Blivin garnered a personal record in both the 800m and the mile to finish in the top-25 for each event.
Junior Hannah Wittman earned a pair of top-three finishes and won the mile while setting a new Belmont record in the event.
Tennis
In its home opener on Friday afternoon, the men’s tennis team fell 4-0 to Southeastern Conference opponent South Carolina. The team returns to action on March 1 when it travels to the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Bruin Blitz will return back to its video format next Wednesday.