Belmont Game Notes

Jacksonville Game Notes

MACON, Ga. - For the first time in the 31-year history of the Atlantic Sun, two schools meet tied atop the men's basketball standings in the final game of the season when Belmont hosts Jacksonville at 4:15 p.m. CT.

The two enter with matching 14-5 records. Jacksonville won the first meeting of the season, rallying from a 19-point deficit to pull out at 65-64 victory in the conference opener for both schools. Ben Smith hit a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining to give the Dolphins the lead. The Bruins' Andy Wicke drove into paint but had his shot blocked by Marcus Allen. Henry Harris grabbed the loss ball but missed on a leaner from the free-throw line.

Smith scored 16 points and hit 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Allen poured in a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. For Belmont, Matthew Dotson led the way with 14 points, but Alex Renfroe scored only 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting.

In his last 13 games, Renfroe played at an all-conference level, averaging 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 60.4 percent from the floor. He goes head-to-head with another all-conference candidate in Smith who leads the Dolphins in scoring, assists and steals. He leads the league in minutes played per game, playing close to 36 minutes each night.

This afternoon's game marks the first time the two have played in Nashville, Tenn., since the title game of the 2008 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships. Much like their earlier game this season, the Bruins stormed out of the gate, taking a 45-23 halftime lead, but unlike that game, the Bruins never relinquished the lead, winning their third title, 79-61.

Overall, Belmont owns a 6-1 advantage on Jacksonville at home, 7-1 in the Music City. With a win, the Bruins would be the first A-Sun team to win outright regular-season titles since College of Charleston won in 1993-94 and 1994-95. The Cougars went on to win three straight division titles in 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98. For Jacksonville, a win would mean the first regular-season conference title in school history.

The game can be seen on ASun.TV.