belmont university

belmont university-Forget Christian Laettner, Tate George and Bryce Drew. If Justin Hare's running one-hander from just inside midcourt fell through the net last night at the Verizon Center, it would have relegated all the great last-second baskets in NCAA Tournament history to second best. Not only was it launched from farther away, but it would have lifted a 15th seed to an implausible victory over a second seed and perennial championship contender.

Little Belmont University, from Nashville, Tenn., and the modest Atlantic Sun conference, failed to topple mighty Duke in the opening round of the 2008 national showcase by the margin of one point and one slightly errant shot that grazed the side of the rim from 45 feet. Four 15s have beaten a 2 in the 30 years since the tournament has been seeded but none of them would have matched Belmont over Duke for both the drama of the finish and the scope of the upset. As Belmont coach Rick Byrd noted, "Duke is probably the premier program of the last 20 years."

But the Blue Devils, a 71-70 winner, had their hands full with the little Bruins, who performed like Pete Carril's old Princeton teams on speed. Belmont dazed Duke with backdoor cuts and when the favorites stepped back to defend, the Bruins popped in threes. After falling behind 51-41 in the second half, the underdogs challenged with a 9-0 run and even had the nerve to take a 58-56 lead with 10:59 remaining.

Duke drew ahead once more but the feisty Bruins reclaimed the lead for the final time at 70-69 on Hare's two free throws with 2:02 left. After several misses by both teams, sophomore Gerald Henderson finally seized the advantage for the Blue Devils at 71-70 on a drive through the lane with 12 seconds left.

After a Hare miss, Alex Renfroe rebounded and called timeout. Byrd set up an inbounds play the team has used all season in similar situations. Renfroe lobbed the ball toward the center of the lane where Shane Dansby was supposed to grab it in midair and toss it at the hoop. But Dansby couldn't cut through the thicket of defenders and DeMarcus Nelson intercepted.

He was fouled with three seconds on the clock but missed the front end of a one-on-one. Belmont called timeout and set up the play to Hare, who took two dribbles down the left side of the court and let fly. "If Justin's shot had gone in," Byrd said more than a half-hour later, "we wouldn't have played any better but we'd still be celebrating out there and the world would be talking about us."

The talk will be a lot more subdued. The 2008 Belmont team now will be treated like the 1989 Princeton team that came within an eyelash (remember Alonzo Mourning getting a fingernail on what might have been Kit Mueller's winning shot) of scoring the first knockout of a No. 1 seed by a 16.

"I'm not going to lie to you," said Renfroe, the point guard who led Belmont with 15 points and three assists. "It's a heartbreak. After the game, I was just speechless." Some of his teammates were in tears.

Henderson, the son of former Knick Gerald Henderson, scored Duke's final eight points and 21 in all. "We wanted the ball in G's hands," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "for his shot and his ability to penetrate. He made a great move going full court for the winning basket. I've coached in 89 of these [NCAA Tournament] games and this has to rank among the top three of four. That's a tribute to Belmont."

As the poet once said, of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, what might have been.

belmont university