THURSDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 74, @Alaska Anchorage 60
BELMONT 74, ALASKA ANCHORAGE 60
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Working into the wee hours of the morning, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Alaska Anchorage in the quarterfinal round of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Wednesday.
Given a 10 p.m. Alaska standard time tip – 1 a.m. Thursday in Nashville – the Bruins were confronted with a seemingly interminable day in the majestic land of the last frontier.
And after defeating Pac-12 stalwart Stanford Sunday to earn national Top 25 votes, it was easy to label the tournament opener as a trap game. But the tradition-rich Seawolves were not going to sneak up on Belmont; the word was out on their vast achievements as an NCAA Division II program: 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 53 victories against NCAA Division I opponents – including a 1989 Michigan team that won the national championship and the likes of Notre Dame, Texas and Washington.
In fact, Belmont head coach Rick Byrd remarking leading into the game that UAA was one of the most impressive and fundamentally sound teams he had scouted in recent memory.
With that as a backdrop, the Bruins looked to keep their early season momentum going.
After an opening three-pointer from Mike MacKelvie, senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) capped a 7-0 Bruin run to put the visitors up 7-3.
A three-pointer from freshman Craig Bradshaw (Franklin, Tenn.) and five points from senior Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) stretched the margin to 19-13 six minutes in.
But following another MacKelvie jumpshot, senior Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) would pick up his second personal foul and be forced to the sidelines for the final 12:48 of the half.
Understandably, the Bruin offense was a bit hamstrung without its dynamic floor general, but nevertheless, Johnson's teammates rose to the challenge.
Sophomore Reece Chamberlain (Goodlettsville, Tenn.), who shook off a scary fall midway through the first half, was ushered into extended duty and kept Belmont on track.
Consecutive layins from Noack and senior Adam Barnes (Clarksville, Tenn.) and a floater from Clark pushed the Bruin lead to 27-17 with 9:40 left in the half.
The lead grew to 33-19 on another Noack layin before the Seawolves closed the margin.
Belmont did an extraordinary job of chasing UAA guards through numerous dribble handoffs and baseline screen series to limit the open shot opportunities for capable Seawolf shooters. But a deep three-pointer from Kyle Fossman and two Stephan Heard free throws trimmed the score to 39-31 with 1:44 left in the half.
But with just seconds remaining, Belmont scored on a gorgeous baseline out of bounds play as Noack put home a reverse layin to give the Bruins a 41-31 lead at halftime.
The Bruins shot 50 percent (15-for-30) from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including 4-for-10 from three-point distance. Belmont forced 11 UAA turnovers in the first half. Noack and Clark each had 10 for Belmont at the break.
Noack continued his fine form with a straight-on three-pointer to increase the lead to 44-33 with 17:58 left. But just as UAA started to inch closer, Johnson picked up his third personal foul with 15:17 left.
With Kerron on the bench, the Seawolves closed within 44-39 on one free throw from Teancum Stafford.
Undeterred, the Bruins used pressure defense and unselfish play to reply in kind. Belmont scored seven straight points, capped by another Noack three-pointer to mark the score 51-39 with 14:08 left.
Then after a steal and score from Chamberlain and an easy two from junior Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.), Belmont would seize control.
Five straight points from Stafford got UAA within single figures for a final time at 55-46 with 11:49 left, before a flashy drive from Bradshaw and interior baskets from Noack and senior Brandon Baker (Milford, Ohio) extinguished the hosts' run.
Belmont's largest lead of 19, 69-50, came with 5:04 left on a putback from junior J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.).
All told, Belmont shot 44 percent (27-for-61) from the field – including 8-for-19 from three-point distance. The Bruins came up with 12 steals on 20 UAA turnovers.
Noack led three Bruins in double figures with a career-high 15 points. Clark scored 14 points and added five assists, while Mann scored 13.
Chamberlain had six points, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers in a career-high 26 minutes.
Belmont also held the Seawolves' leading scorer, Fossman 12 points under his average on 2-for-7 shooting in 40 minutes of play.
MacKelvie led UAA (4-1) with 14 points.
With the victory, Belmont starts the season 4-0 for the first time in the program's NCAA Division I era.
Belmont (4-0) returns to action Friday against Northeastern in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout semifinal round. Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. CT from Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.