Men's Basketball Defends Home Court Against UNI
- Sam Dicus
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Men’s basketball head coach Casey Alexander secured his 300th career victory in Belmont’s 91-86 win over the University of Northern Iowa, with former player Ben Sheppard in attendance.
Sheppard, who starred for the Bruins from 2019 to 2023, was selected as the 26th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers and is still with the team.
With the NBA All-Star break starting for the Pacers, Sheppard took advantage and came to his first Belmont basketball game as an alumnus.
“It’s really cool. It’s my first time getting to be back,” said Sheppard. “It’s a great environment, and I love being home.”
Sheppard’s homecoming was in danger of being spoiled in the first half when UNI went on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead.
The Bruins responded by hitting their next eight consecutive shots, starting with a three-pointer from redshirt senior Aidan Noyes and ending with another Noyes three-pointer nearly six minutes later.
In the midst of that stretch, UNI’s redshirt junior Leon Bond III was assessed a technical foul. For over five minutes after that technical foul, UNI was outscored 19-6.
Riding high, Belmont’s lead reached six points with less than two minutes to play in the half.
However, UNI went on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 45 apiece heading into the half.
Both offenses came out of the break firing, as the Bruins hit their first five consecutive shots, and UNI kept pace behind a steady diet of three-pointers.
Then, Tyler Lundblade took over.
The graduate student from Dallas poured in 21 second-half points on 6/8 shooting and consistently made the big plays when the Bruins needed him to.
After UNI cut the lead to one with 14 minutes left, Lundblade responded by hitting three consecutive three-pointers to regain a six-point lead.
“Once you feel one go in, especially the first one, the basket just starts to feel bigger and bigger. At that point, you’re not thinking about anything. You’re not feeling anything. You’re just out there playing free,” Lundblade said.
Despite Lundblade’s brilliance, UNI managed to tie the score at 76 apiece with under four minutes left in the game.
Belmont regained the lead with layups from freshman Jack Smiley and redshirt freshman Jabez Jenkins, before Lundblade hit a dagger three with 2:11 left, pushing the Bruins’ lead to seven.
Lundblade, sitting at his career-high of 27 points, was sent to the line twice by UNI in the closing seconds and sank all four free throws for 31 points.
He became the first Bruin to score 30 points since Malik Dia scored 32 against Drake two years ago, and Lundblade did so against the nation’s leader in scoring defense and three-point defense.
The 91 points were the most UNI had allowed all season, which broke the mark previously set by the Bruins when they scored 78 last time these two teams played.
It was a bounce-back effort for the Bruins after losing their previous game on the road in overtime to Bradley.
“We don’t lose two games in a row. That was the mantra,” Lundblade said. “A loss, especially this late in the year, can either break you or make you refocus, and I think that’s what it is for us.”
After cutting the number of turnovers from the Bradley game from 17 to 11, Alexander stressed the importance of ball security.
“There’s nothing more important than taking care of the ball so that we can have the numbers we have. I mean, it’s unmistakable that when we don’t turn it over, then we’re pretty good offensively over the long haul,” said Alexander.
Redshirt sophomore Sam Orme, playing with a black eye, was Belmont’s second leading scorer and the only other Bruin in double figures with 15 points.
Smiley, Noyes, redshirt freshman Eoin Dillon and junior Brigham Rogers all came off the bench for the Bruins and scored at least seven points apiece.
Rogers relied heavily upon redshirt sophomore Drew Scharnowski in foul trouble for most of the game. Scharnowski was held without a shot attempt in only 12 minutes of game action.
Rogers had nine points, five rebounds and a team-leading five assists. With Rogers on the floor, Belmont outscored UNI by seven points.
The Bruins return this Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 against the Murray State Racers in a matchup of the top two teams in the MVC.
This article was written by Sam Dicus