Men's Basketball Defeats Air Force In Season Opener

Sam Orme shoots a three-pointer, photo taken by Nick Rampe

Men’s basketball season took off with a 79-63 win against Air Force.

Forward redshirt sophomore Sam Orme became an offensive weapon against the Falcons, totaling a career-high of 21 points.

Orme took pride in the team’s aggressive playing in Monday's victory.

“It’s pretty good as a team to even force 23 turnovers,” Orme said, “It just speaks to our aggression levels, and getting it into the paint and getting in touch just leads to easy buckets.”

Graduate Guard Nic McClain also had a great game as the new Bruin on the block, scoring 14 points and going perfect with his ten free throws.

McClain shouted out the crowd bringing the energy to Monday's home opener.

“I love it here, I think that's part of the reason I came here,” Mcclain said. “It's just a family culture that I want to be a part of and they bring the energy every night, and I can't do nothing but do the same.”

Free throws were a major improvement compared to last week's exhibition match against Tennessee Tech.

The Bruins managed to make 84% of free throws, compared to last week’s 65.7%.

Belmont also chopped down the staggering 19 turnovers against Tennessee Tech, shortening their mistakes to 8 turnovers against the Falcons.

But Belmont’s 16-point win did not begin with the Bruins firing out of the gate.

Air Force put up the first two scores of the game and did not miss a field goal or three-pointer for the first eight minutes of the game while rocketing to a 19-13 lead.

Moments later, freshman guard Jack Smiley scored his first points and his first three-pointer of his college career to tie the game up 19-19.

The game total of 33 fouls displayed both teams aggression, at one point Air Force head coach Joe Scott got a technical foul, leading to graduate guard Tyler Lundblade making both free throws.

McClain ended the first half with a successful layup, taking the lead away from Air Force as the clock struck zero.

Belmont took control of the second half and created a 12-point lead in the first nine minutes.

With ten minutes left in the game Belmont roared with a 16-point lead.

At this point, it was cat and mouse between the Bruins and Falcons.

Air Force would cut Belmont’s lead with a field goal or three pointer and the Bruins would answer with another score.

The roar of the Bruins was louder than the Air Force, towering over the Falcons 79-63 in the first game of the season.

Belmont head coach Casey Alexander gave credit to how the Falcons played in the game.

“The way they play offensively, we probably won't see anybody that deliberate for the rest of the year..it just took us a while to get a rhythm,” Alexander said.

Belmont will remain at home to play against Tennessee State University Saturday at 7 p.m. - 

This article was written by Reece Leddy