Come Support Belmont High in the Audience at High School Quiz Show this Saturday

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This Saturday, students from Belmont High School will go toe-to-toe with their contemporaries from Shrewsbury High in the first round of this year’s WGBH’s High School Quiz Show!

Thomas Zembowicz, Rahul Ramakrishnan, Clare Lai, Lucas Jenkins, and Sai Sriraman will begin taping in front of a studio audience on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. at WGBH’s studio at 1 Guest St. in Brighton. 

Students and residents can reserve FREE tickets to the taping at http://www.wgbh.org/quizshow/

The BHS quintet will be competing in season six of High School Quiz Show after scoring in the top 16 out of 120 teams from across the state in a fierce tryout at the WGBH studios on Nov. 16.

“The students did a phenomenal job. The breadth of knowledge they collectively possess is extraordinary,” said BHS science teacher Stacy Williams who is the team’s faculty advisor/leader/cheerleader.

The High School Quiz Show is a single-elimination tournament with qualifying matches; quarterfinals, semifinals, and a state championship match. The team that wins the tournament goes on as Massachusetts state champion to compete in the third annual Governor’s Cup Challenge, a “winner-take-all” matchup against the winning school of Granite State Challenge, New Hampshire’s public television show. This year the Governor’s Cup challenge will be hosted by WGBH.

The show will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. on WGBH 2. The show is hosted by local radio and television personality Billy Costa.

Questions? Contact Williams at sawilliams@belmont.k12.ma.us

Thinking of Running for Elected Office? Now’s the Time to Act

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Have you ever considered running for elected office for Belmont? How about being a Town Meeting member?

If you have, the Belmont Town Clerk’s Office advises that time is running short on this opportunity to represent the town or your precinct as the due date to submit nomination papers is fast approaching – Tuesday, Feb. 17 – to see your name on the April 7 Town Election ballot.

Town-wide Offices

There are many Town-wide elected offices that will appear on the Annual Town Election ballot. If you’re interested or want to share your skills in this way, now is the time to step forward. Here is the list of town-wide offices up for nomination, in the order they will appear on the ballot.

  • Moderator elect one person for one year
  • Board of Selectmen elect one member for three years
  • Board of Assessors elect one member for three years
  • Board of Cemetery Commissioners  elect one member for three years
  • Board of Health elect one member for three years
  • Members of the Housing Authority  elect one member for five years
  • Trustees of the Public Library elect two members for three years
  • Members of the School Committee  elect two members for three years AND one member for two years

Representative Town Meeting – Representatives from Each of the Eight Voting Precincts

In addition to the Town-wide offices, 12 representative Town Meeting members are elected for three-year terms from each of our eight voting precincts. This year, there are also some partial term openings for Town Meeting, vacancies created by members moving or resigning:

  • Precinct 1 : elect 12 members for three years
  • Precinct 2 : elect 12 members for three years
  • Precinct 3 : elect 12 members for three years
  • Precinct 4 : elect 12 members for three years
  • Precinct 5 : elect 12 members for three years AND 1 member for one year
  • Precinct 6 : elect 12 members for three years AND 1 member of one year AND 1 member for two years
  • Precinct 7 : elect 12 members for three years AND 4 members for two years
  • Precinct 8 : elect 12 members for three years AND 1 member for one year

Incumbent Town Meeting members who want to run for re-election in 2015 must notify the Town Clerk by 5 p.m., Jan. 27, by submitting the Intention Letter that was mailed in December to those Members whose term expires in 2015.  Missing that deadline means having to collect signatures on nomination papers.

Annual Town Meeting takes place in the spring, and typically lasts for six evenings, (customarily Monday and Wednesday) starting May 4 then reconvening on June 1. Town Meeting makes all of the decisions about the Town’s budgets and local Bylaws. Belmont’s government is a Representative Town Meeting, which means that only Town Meeting members can vote at Town Meeting, unlike the Open Town Meeting form of government.  That’s why it’s very important that all the Town Meeting seats are filled to have full representation of each Belmont neighborhood.

Getting Your Name on the Ballot

Running for election is simple. Stop by the Town Clerk’s office to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends who are registered voters sign your papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. 

To be nominated for Town-wide office, you must have signatures of at least 50 registered voters of the Town on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe.

To be nominated for Town Meeting, the signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe.  Some current Town Meeting Members will be seeking re-election but all 12 seats are available in each precinct.

Find Out More

The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office by selecting “Town Clerk,” then select “Campaigning: Running for Elected Office in Belmont or Town Meeting Member Information” or by calling 617-993-2600.

Belmont Boys’ Hoops Speeds By Winchester, 75-58, for Back-to-Back Wins

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When faced with sudden changes and unexpected situations, the US Marines’ have an unofficial mantra it relies on: “Improvise, adapt and overcome.”

Those words have been the modus operandi for the Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball since losing all-star senior center Adam Kleckner this past Monday to a sprained ankle. On Friday, Jan. 16, the Marauders’ demonstrated it has changed to its new reality by relying on speed and a suffocating defense to race past Winchester High School, 75-58, at Wenner Field House.

“For sure, they played unselfishly and team defense. I liked our decision-making tonight that included making the extra pass that led to better shooting opportunities,” Adam Pritchard, Belmont’s head coach, told the Belmontonian.

Winchester (7-5, 3-5 in the Middlesex League) came into the game with a five-game win streak which included beating two teams – Woburn and Somerville – Belmont (7-4, 6-2 in the league) lost to in the past week.

Pritchard said the team focused on Winchester’s senior captain Michael Grassey, who had been scoring 25 points per game.

“We made him a focus because he’s the key to their offense,” said Pritchard.

But it was the speed of Belmont’s backcourt, junior Matt Kerans and senior Ben Lazenby, proved to be the decisive factor Friday as the pair took on the Sachems’ undersized guards time and time again through the middle or around the edge, allowing for chance to head to the basket or dish to a teammate. Benefiting from the pass-offs were junior centers Luke Peterson (6 points) and Justin Wagner (7 points).

On one particular rush up court, Lazenby burst down the wing caused the Sachem forward to look back down the court, and the pass went into an open Peterson for the easy two.

By the time the duo – who have played together for the past three years – left the court in the fourth quarter, Kerans (20 points) and Lazenby (22 points) had topped the scoring table.

Joining the pair in double digits was senior forward Seth Altman (12 points) who led the Marauders with a three and two hoops in the first quarter, all the while using his wide wingspan and aggressive presence to make life difficult for the Winchester forwards.

Yet the pressure defense and the full-court press employed during the game was a team effort, employed by seniors Jaemar Paul (4 points), Tom Martin (2 points) and junior Joe Shaughnessy (2 points), who came off the far end of the bench to contribute a pretty turnaround jumper and take a charge on the other end of the court on the next play.

Winchester pulled back an early Marauder lead down to two (32-30) with two minutes remaining in the first half, but a Lazenby bucket and a pair of foul shots from Kerans before a Altman jumper at the buzzer gave Belmont an eight-point advantage (38-30) at the half.

Within the first six minutes of the third quarter, Belmont’s in-your-face D and fast break saw the Marauders go on a 13-6 run and a 15-point lead (51-36). And when Wagner took a Lazenby miss and converted while being fouled, Belmont’s advantage jumped to 17 points (61-44) early in the fourth which sealed the team’s 7th win.

“The game is only 32 minutes and there were guys coming off the court exhausted. That’s what you want to see,” said Pritchard.

Tuesday, Jan. 20, Belmont heads to Wilmington (5-5, 4-4 in the league) where they will meet the Wildcat’s 6-foot, 10-inch senior center Connor Bennett, who is coming off a 34 point, 20 rebound and 6 block shot performance in its Friday win over Stoneham and 39-points in a loss in the game previous vs. Watertown.

This Weekend: Belmont World Film’s Family Film Festival, Giraffes in the Library, Photos and Book Sale

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• You know that “Giraffes Can’t Dance!” This Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., you’ll learn why when you and your children join Belmont’s Powers Music School faculty members – Vanessa Schukis, narration; Kathy Rosenbach, piano; Ellery Klein, violin; Erica Klein, cello; Todd Brunel, clarinet – at the Belmont Public Library for this free original musical story performance that feature live music and age-appropriate stories for children. These interactive programs are specifically developed for children ages 3 and up, but all ages are welcome to attend.

• This holiday weekend, the Belmont World Film is holding its 12th annual Family Film Festival for children and young teens. The festivities start Friday, Jan. 16 and runs to Monday, Jan. 19 at Arlington’s Regent Theatre, (7 Medford St., Arlington) and Jan. 17 and 18 at the West Newton Cinema, (1296 Washington St., West Newton.)

In honor of the event’s 12th year, the festival will feature and premiere a dozen animated and live action film programs from Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland as well as a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 19.

Opening night, Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Regent Theatre will be the East Coast premiere of “Captain Sabertooth and the Lama Rama Treasure,” a thrilling yet funny live action film set in the 18th century that features a band of clever pirates — both male and female — led by Captain Sabertooth, as well as a group of children who demonstrate courage, shrewdness and vigor (recommended for age 6-15). Prizes will be awarded for attendees with the best pirate costumes.

Individual tickets are $5 for programs that are 60 minutes or less and $8 for programs that are longer. Full festival passes are $40, and day passes are $20. Tickets are available in advance online at belmontworldfilm.org or in person at the box office on the day of show. For full film descriptions and more information, visit belmontworldfilm.org or call 617-484-3980.

• Come to the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Saturday, Jan. 17 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., for the library’s monthly book sale. The books are gently used and reasonably priced. All proceeds benefit the Benton. Browse the regular collection. The Library, which is open the third Saturday afternoon of every month, is located at 75 Oakley Rd.

• The exhibit “Photovoice: A Lens into our Lives,” continues at the Belmont Gallery of Art this weekend and through Jan. 29.  The exhibit showcases more than 30 photographic and text-based works made by individuals enrolled in photography and creative writing workshops at Waverley Place, the Community Program of McLean Hospital. The gallery will be open on Fri., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex.

New Group Seeking Moratorium on ‘McMansions’ Near Grove Street Playground

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Photo: 185 Dalton Rd. is an example of an “overbuilt” homes near Grove Street Playground which initiated a citizen’s petition.

Building on the success of those who brought a temporary halt to residential teardowns in Belmont’s Waverley Square area, a newly-created group submitted on Jan. 11 a citizen’s petition seeking Town Meeting approval to place a one-year freeze on the construction of so-called “homes on steroids” or “McMansions” in the neighborhood around the Grove Street Playground.

According to one of the leaders of the Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning, the initiative could become a jumping off point for a more wide-ranging rethinking of Belmont’s residential zoning laws.

“This could be farther reaching than just this moratorium. We believe this group will have a broader appeal around town to re-examine the bylaw,” Stephen Pinkerton told the Belmontonian.

The BCRZ is seeking to place a one-year suspension of “oversized single-family dwellings in a portion of Belmont’s Single Residence C Zoning District,” according to the group’s press release dated Friday, Jan. 16.

The area – at times called the Shaw Estate – includes single-families within the bounties of School, Washington and Grove streets and Grosvenor, Dalton and Bacon Roads. (See map below.)

The moratorium would set a 32-foot height limit from the average grade to the roof ridge of structures built to replace demolished homes, also known as teardowns.

According to Pinkerton, the area has seen the construction of five large teardown replacements in the past two years. (See second map below.) One example is 185 Dalton Rd., newly constructed with 4,000-plus square-feet and 34.1 feet high. It replaced a Garrison Colonial built in 1952 with 1,600 square-feet.

The press release states concerned “oversized replacement houses will:

  • change the character of the neighborhood;
  • crowd out sunlight, trees, and natural habitat for song birds;
  • exclude middle-income families from single-family home ownership;
  • undermine the value of existing homes; and
  • take advantage of zoning that is not as strict as existing rules for renovations and additions.”

Pinkerton said he and the group are not opposed to developers building in the neighborhood.

“They have a right to make a living like the rest of us. But there should be some limits on what is built,” he said.

Pinkerton attributes the successful effort by neighbors in Precinct 3 and 4 who fought for a one-year moratorium two years ago as spurring the BCRZ to seek its stay.

“They set the precedence,” said Pinkerton.

Town Meeting in May 2013 passed a moratorium on single-family homes being replaced with two-family structures in general residence zoning districts with the majority located near to Belmont’s Waverley Square. In the five previous years, 20 single-family houses were torn down and replaced by 40 attached townhouses in the area.

The article will need to win two-thirds approval from the 290-member Town Meeting. If that occurs, the BCRZ “will work with the Belmont Planning Board and others to craft new zoning by-laws that will help preserve the neighborhood’s distinctive character,” said the press release.

The BCRZ will be holding a precinct meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the moratorium.

Pinkerton said the BCRZ’s moratorium effort could start a discussion on a possible comprehensive review of the town’s residential bylaw in the near future.

“We already see interest in that. Our expectation is this sort of discussion will only grow.”

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Moratorium Flyer

Sold in Belmont: Brighton Street Colonial Goes Solo This Week

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A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 373 Brighton St. Garrison Colonial (1935), Sold for: $744,000. Listed at $759,000. Living area: 1,734 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 100 days.

With a little bit of touching up, this Garrison Colonial is a real find at just under $745,000, about $100,000 less than the current median price of a Belmont house. 

Belmont Girls’ Hoops Stumbles to Lexington and its Superstar, 54-46

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Disappointment. You could see it in the face of Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Melissa Hart after the team took a tumble against host Lexington High School on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

The 54-46 loss was a step back for the Marauders, who have lost two consecutive games and falling to 4-3 overall and in the Middlesex League after reeling off four straight victories.

“We were enjoying that we were that good,” said Hart of the four-game winning streak that included a victory over a strong Arlington High squad. “We have to get our focus back on basketball.”

Tuesday’s game saw Belmont never getting into the rhythm offensively it has shown since the opener with Watertown with only junior Irini Nikolaidis reaching double digits (16 points) to lead the Marauders.

And Belmont needed to up its point production as it faced someone in white and gold many of the girls’ knew only too well. Minuteman guard Anna Kelly is just a junior but has already topped 1,000 points in her career – in a game played in Orlando at the ESPN complex – while dropping 43 points against a team from California a few weeks ago. She is a superstar – she is projected to be playing top-flight Div. 1 basketball in college – that makes a very average team very good.

But Belmont knows Kelly best from last year’s match at Wenner Field House when she scored 52 points against the Marauders, a Lexington school and Belmont gym record and the third-most points by a girl in recorded state history.

Tuesday saw a more human side to Kelly, missing more shots than making and throwing up an air ball (!) while being defended by senior Sophia Eschenbach-Smith (3 points) and junior Sarah Stewart (6 points).

And while the Belmont defenders kept Kelly to “only” 24 points, whenever Lexington (6-4, 5-2) needed a basket to first take the lead (a jumper to make it 13-11 in the first quarter) or to stem a Belmont comeback (a running layup to up the Minutemen’s lead to 21-18), Kelly was there to drill another basket.

Adding to Belmont’s frustration was allowing Lexington to take uncontested three point shots. The Minutemen scored a three pointer while extending their lead including a gut-punch buzzer beater from 25 feet by junior Eleanor Van Arsdell (6 points) to end the first half, 28-22.

“Our worst statistic on defense is allowing three pointer. And they are starting to really hurt,” said Hart, pointing to Woburn who scored 5 threes.

With the lead in hand, Lexington dished out what Belmont usually does to opponents, applying close, man-to-man defense over the entire court. With the exception of freshman Jenny Call who hit a pair of threes, Belmont’s seeming reluctant to take outside shots forced the ball down low near the basket, only to find four Lexington players waiting in the paint. For Belmont’s forecourt of senior center Linda Herlihy (4 points), Stewart and senior Elena Bragg (4 points), it was like dancing in a crowded phone booth.

Belmont did rally to keep the score close (35-31), coming within three points (38-35) when freshman point guard Carly Christofori (4 points) hit two from the charity stripe with a minute remaining in the third quarter.

But there was that girl Kelly with a pair of jumpers to up the lead to 42-35 at the end of the quarter. An 11-0 run in the fourth sealed the deal for the Minutemen.

Next up for Belmont is an out-of-league matchup with Waltham High at Wenner Field House at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15.

 

Winn Brook Tennis Courts Aced Off Town’s Community Preservation Funding List

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The town committee appointed to dole out community dollars for a wide-range of projects decided last night to play singles and not doubles when it comes to funding repairs to a pair of Belmont tennis courts.

The town’s Community Preservation Committee rejected a request from the town for $295,000 to reconstruct and repair the tennis courts at the Winn Brook Elementary School at its monthly meeting held on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Town Hall.

There is good news to the tennis-playing residents in the southern end of Belmont as the committee approved sending to Town Meeting a proposal to spend the same $295,000 to upgrade and restore the Pequossette Park (also known as the PQ) tennis courts located behind the VFW building off Trapelo Road.

[Under Belmont’s charter, only the 290-member Town Meeting, which meets each spring, can allocate funds from the Community Preservation Act account.]

The debate among the eight members was not that reconstruction work is required at both sites – the group agreed the courts need repairs for their long-term survival – but whether the courts are utilized by residents to warrant the money being spent.

“I believe there’s too much capacity in the number of tennis courts,” said member Floyd Carman. “It’s a distribution problem,” said Carman.

The committee agreed a comprehensive usage survey of the town’s tennis court inventory should be conducted before the community spends another dollar on repairs.

But putting together that study will require forming an oversight group – either within the Recreation Department or as an offshoot of an existing committee – and formulating the criteria to be used will be difficult, because, as Andy Rojas of the Board of Selectmen noted, “the study is time intensive because you’ll need to carefully monitor the courts’ use.”

While voting down the Winn Brook courts, the committee agreed to move forward with the PQ repairs “because it is geographically isolated, and it’s in worse shape,” said Carman, adding the town has only a limited recreation presence in the area south of Trapelo Road.

It is hoped the study will determine the maximum number of courts required for residents and school use, and whether any current courts can be transformed into locations with other activities, such as roller hockey or a skate park, said Carman.

The committee did approve sending to the annual Town Meeting other requests:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000,
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300,
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500,
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000 and
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.

While approving to send the Homer House request to Town Meeting, the committee did attach conditions to that request. One is to have the Belmont Woman’s Club – the building’s owner – put in writing what constitutes “public access” to the historic structure in terms of hours it will be open to residents and how much of the building can be toured.

“Public access is important,” said CPC’s Anthony Ferrante. “I want more specifics.”

In addition, the committee will discuss with Belmont Town Counsel George Hall whether a clause can be written into the structure’s deed that will allow the town to recoup the money it spent on the house if the building is ever sold.

Approved by Belmont voters in November 2010, the Community Preservation Act fund is financed by property tax surcharges and an annual stipend from the state’s “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.” The funds are used towards recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space.

Belmont Fire Log: I’m Locking You Out, Mom

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Where is this arc?

Jan. 4 – About an hour after midnight, Engine 2 was sent to Knox Street to investigate what was reported to be outside wires arcing. Firefighters were told by a homeowner that she saw a flash and heard popping sounds which she believed came from a street light across from her home. One neighbor reported hearing popping sounds coming from the area of Lamoine and Bellington. Belmont Light respond to the scene but couldn’t find such event.

Read the recipe

Jan. 4 – Just after 7 a.m., fire crews were off to McLean Hospital’s Admissions building for a reported cooking fire. Turned out to be a microwave set on the incorrect cooking time.

The need for private time

Jan. 4 – At a quarter ’til 2 p.m., fire department personnel were sent to a Watson Road house to “rescue” a young child who somehow locked himself in the family’s bathroom. Rather than simply kicking the door in, fire crews removed the pins on the outside of the door and extricated the mischevious toddler.

On the side

Jan 5 –  Just before 8 p.m., fire companies arrived at a house on Skahan Road to remove some aluminum siding from the structure’s roof line which had come loose in the high winds buffering the area.

Get out the mop

Jan. 7 – At about a quarter ’til 10 a.m., fire personnel were directed to a house on Hull Street for water in the basement. The culprit; a broken hose to the washing machine. Unfortunately, the amount of water was too low for the fire department’s pumps to be of any use. Turns out the homeowner was going to handle that job.

Locked out, part 1

Jan. 8 – At a quarter past 10 a.m., a fire department crew were sent to a Bartlett Avenue two family. Someone forgot their keys. Turned out that everything at the house – windows, basement doors – was locked and the woman didn’t want to risk any damage to the landlord’s house. So the BPD drove the woman over to McLean Hospital to meet her husband who had an extra set of keys.

Locked out, part 2

Jan. 8 – At 10:45 a.m., the department drove over to Elm Street where they found a woman who left her keys in the truck. As personnel were about to “pop” the entry, the woman’s husband comes along with his set of keys.

Up through the chimney

Jan. 8 – At just about 3 p.m., fire crews rushed over to a Birch Street house after heavy smoke appeared from the chimney. Turned out that the flue pipe had a bit of creosote buildup, at which time the fire department asked it to be cleaned before using again.

A personal note

On Jan. 5 at at 8:42 a.m., the editor of the Belmontonian was running very late and was about to leave his abode on Unity Avenue when the alarms started blaring. “Get out of the building. Fire” A quick look into the basement found black smoke coming from a boiler. A call to 911 was redirected to the Belmont dispatcher and the fire department arrived quickly afterwards. The crew found that it was only a boiler malfunction with the fire confined. The blew out the smoke and made sure everything was OK. I’d like to thank the Belmont Fire and Police departments for their professional manner and response.

Despite Kleckner Loss, Belmont Boys’ Basketball Takes Host Lexington, 65-58

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Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball team, there was senior center Adam Kleckner sitting in street clothes at the end of the bench during the Marauders’ game with host Lexington High on Tuesday night, Jan. 14.

Last year’s co-Player of the Year in the Middlesex League who has been dominating the boards and scoring this season, Kleckner arrived to the game on crutches, the result of “a serious ankle sprain” that he suffered at practice the day before, said Belmont Head Coach Adam Pritchard.

The loss of the dominate center in the league for “the next few weeks” comes as the Marauders had traveled through a hideous patch of games, going 1-4 including last-minute losses to Woburn on Friday and Saturday to a winless Somerville High squad in the feature match held at the TD Bank Garden in Boston.

“It’s adversity that you have to accept,” said Pritchard, noting that during this season the team has lost to injury three of their four captains; Kleckner, starting shooting guard junior Matt Kerans and senior guard Tom Martin.

It appears fourth captain, senior point guard Ben Lazenby, should be outfitted with a rabbit’s foot.

Despite Kleckner’s loss, the Marauders’ was able to press the 1-7 Minutemen – which saw a potentially playoff run go to the wayside when brothers Tom and Harry O’Neil were recruited to play at St. John’s Prep – and score a series of three point buckets to walk away with a much needed, 65-58, victory.

“We just wanted to put down our heads and play fast and tough. Sometimes if you just give maximum effort and just do what you’re capable of, things work out. The team was great tonight,” said Pritchard.

While at times looking like a pick-up game at the local Y with a lot of running around but no scoring, Belmont relied on the inside play of now-starting junior center Justin Wagner and stellar work by senior guard Jaemar Paul and Luke Peterson which included yet another monster rejection from the junior forward.

Belmont kept seeing its lead yo-yo-ing between 10 and 4 points throughout the game, up by four at the half (29-25), then by 11 midway through the third, then back down to four points again (49-45) with six minutes to play in the game.

But that was as close as the Minutemen would come as Martin hit a three, Belmont stole the ball and senior forward Seth Altman hit one of two to increase the lead (53-45).

Lexington did stick around to within five points (57-52) but Lazenby was fouled on his successful layup for three more, a return to the line for two more and Kerans’ long-distance three pointer was the coup de grâce (65-55) with just under two minutes to play. 

Belmont will need this same drive and effort on Friday, Jan. 16, as they play a surging Winchester team (6-4, 4-4 in the league) with 6’4″ center Michael Grassey who is scoring 24 points a game.