Belmont University’s men’s basketball team secured the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season championship with an 87-70 victory over Indiana State at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. This win marks Belmont’s 13th regular season conference title in the past 21 years, achieved across three different conferences: ASUN, OVC, and MVC.
The Bruins are now tied for fourth nationally in total victories this season, alongside teams such as Duke, Arizona, Michigan, UConn, Saint Louis, and SFA. Belmont has won 12 of its last 13 games and has suffered only one regulation loss since December 4. The team leads the nation in true road wins (11) and combined road/neutral site victories (13), which is more than SMU, Texas, and Indiana combined.
“Full credit to our players for this conference championship,” said Belmont head coach Casey Alexander. “Tonight was emblematic of our season; wasn’t always easy, wasn’t always pretty, but collectively we have a group of guys willing to support each other and make contributions on both ends of the floor for the betterment of the team. This is a tremendous accomplishment because the Missouri Valley Conference is a tremendous conference. You have to earn it through daily process, dedication, and accountability. Wonderful that our home crowd and student section could share in this. Enjoy. Celebrate. Then on to the next game.”
The game began with reigning NCAA 3-point champion Tyler Lundblade hitting a three-pointer just 17 seconds after tip-off. Despite missing 12 consecutive shots from long range during the first half, Belmont used defense and rebounding to keep Indiana State scoreless for over six minutes before halftime. A run highlighted by Tyler and Jack Smiley helped Belmont take a 39-25 lead into halftime.
Belmont shot 48 percent from the field in the first half while holding Indiana State to just 31 percent shooting. The Bruins’ bench contributed significantly with an advantage of +11 points over Indiana State’s reserves.
In the second half, Sam Orme scored seven quick points and Isaiah West connected with Drew Scharnowski for an alley-oop dunk that extended Belmont’s lead to 20 points early on. Defensive rebounds and turnovers led to transition baskets as Scharnowski, Rogers, and Orme added key scores.
Indiana State narrowed the gap to within 12 points late in the game before baskets from Smiley and Rogers pushed Belmont ahead again by double digits.
Coach Alexander gave senior reserves Keith Robbins and Jake Dykstra extended playing time toward the end of the game; both made three-pointers as Belmont built its largest lead at 24 points.
Overall, Belmont shot 51 percent from the field (33-for-65), recorded 17 assists, forced 13 turnovers by Indiana State, scored 50 points in the paint, and outrebounded their opponent by two boards (35-33).
Jack Smiley led four Bruins in double figures with 18 points along with three assists and two steals. Drew Scharnowski finished with 14 points plus five rebounds; Brigham Rogers had eleven points; Tyler Lundblade also scored eleven while grabbing a career-high six rebounds. Lundblade now has made 102 three-pointers this season—two short of tying his own single-season record at Belmont.
Twelve different players scored for Belmont during this game.
For Indiana State (10-19 overall; 3-15 MVC), Ian Scott led with sixteen points.
Belmont improves its record to 25-4 overall (15-3 MVC) ahead of its next matchup against Evansville on February 25.
Season tickets covering all men’s and women’s home basketball games are available at belmontbruins.com/tickets. Information about joining Bruin Club can be obtained by contacting Russell Grimm at (615)460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.
Belmont men’s basketball has been present in postseason play for nearly two decades—including nine NCAA Tournament appearances—and ranks third nationally in conference championships since 2006 behind Gonzaga and Kansas. The program has won at least twenty games each season for sixteen straight years—a feat matched only by Gonzaga and Kansas—and has produced multiple NBA Draft first-round picks over recent years including Ben Sheppard and Dylan Windler. Additionally, Belmont leads all NCAA programs with nineteen Academic All-America selections since 2001.
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