Belmont’s men’s basketball team defeated Lipscomb University 87-83 in a nailbiter as part of the annual Battle of the Boulevard rivalry matchup.
This is the first time the Bruins have won their first three games in a season since 2012.
Belmont started off hot, leading the Bisons 11-2 in the first 7 minutes in the first half.
Senior Dylan Windler ran into some fouls trouble early on, collecting three fouls. He was benched for a majority of the game and only spent 17 minutes on the court.
At halftime, Belmont kept a slight lead with a score of 37-34.
The Bruins started to run away with the second half in its first 10 minutes, leading the Bisons by 19. But Lipscomb caught up after cutting Belmont’s lead to 77-76 with under 3 minutes left.
This was largely because the Bruins got into foul trouble, and Lipscomb scored 16 of 24 of free throws in the second half. Nine minutes into the half, Belmont head coach Rick Byrd received a technical foul.
The game came down to the final seconds, as the Bruins led by three with 19.5 seconds left.
Freshmen Caleb Hollander and Nick Muszynski once again proved they both will be determining factors for the Bruins’ success.
Hollander earned a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Muszynski scored 16 points and had five blocks and nine rebounds.
Lipscomb and Belmont will face off again on Dec. 4 at the Curb Event Center.
On Tuesday, the Bruins will take on Trevecca Nazarene University at the Curb Event Center at 6:30 p.m..