"Nashville" is A-Sun-ese for "Uh Oh."

Rough weekend for the Nashvile schools. Lipscomb drops to 2-6, losing at ETSU and at Upstate (???). Belmont squeezes by the Spartans, but gets run out of Johnson City.

Best Game of the Weekend -- Tough to choose. Six of the eleven games were decided by less than 5 points. 2 went to overtime:

ETSU 85, Lipscomb 82 (OT). Lipscomb jumped out to a 13-2 lead at lead by as much as 17 early in the second half. ETSU came back after the first TV timeout of the second half, going on a 15-2 run to cut the lead to 2. From then on, it was a seesaw. Courtney Pigram scored with one second left to force overtime, and Michael Lusk missed a potential tying 3-ball at the buzzer in OT to give ETSU the win.

Mercer 101, Stetson 98 (OT). Mercer had a working margin most of the first half, the lead fluctuating between 6 and 12. They couldn't quite put Stetson away in the second half, however, and Stetson pulled yet another rabbit out of a second-half hat, hitting 8 of 13 shots and 7 of 8 free throws in the last 6 minutes to erase a 12-point lead. They even had a shot to win after a James Florence turnover with 4 seconds left, but couldn't get the shot away. OT was more of the same, only this time with Mercer hitting everything in sight. The Bears hit all 3 FG attempts in OT plus 9 of their last 10 FTs to win by 3.

Player of the Weekend -- Calvin Henry, Mercer. 36 PEG (17 points, 12 boards, 9 blocks) in the win over Gulf Coast. 25 PEG (16 & 12 with 3 blocks) in the OT win over Stetson.

Honorable Mention PEG Scores -- Adnan Hozdic, Lipscomb (30 against ETSU). James Florence, Mercer (28 against Stetson). Ben Smith, Jacksonville (26 against Campbell). Bobby Davis, Upstate (26 vs. Lipscomb). Marcus Allen, Jacksonville (25 against Campbell). Jonathan Rodriguez, Campbell (24 against Jacksonville, 21 vs. UNF). Daniel Emerson, Mercer (23 vs. FGCU). Adam Solazzo, ETSU (23 vs. Lipscomb). Eric Diaz, Stetson (23 vs. Mercer). Kevin Tiggs, ETSU (23 vs. Belmont). Garfield Blair, Stetson (22 against Mercer, 21 vs. Kennesaw). Sheldon Oliver, Stetson (20 vs. Kennesaw). Ayron Hardy, Jacksonville (20 against Campbell). Courtney Pigram, ETSU (20 vs. Lipscomb).

Game Snippets

Jacksonville over North Florida -- Round 1 of the River City Rumble goes to the Dolphins. Never in doubt. JU went up 9 early, led by 24 before halftime, and won by 40.

Mercer over Gulf Coast -- Welcome home, Bears. Brian Mills and E. J. Kuysner brought solid efforts. Mercer got up 10 early, pushed it to 18 by halftime, winning by 25.

Stetson over Kennesaw -- Better game than the final score looked. The Owls led most of the first half, and were even up 8 90 seconds into the second half. Whatever Derek Waugh said worked, however, as the Hatters went on a 22-2 run to take control.

Belmont over Upstate -- The Spartans led by 12 with 3 minutes to go in the first half. Belmont cut it to 2 near halftime, but Upstate was back up 5 with 6 minutes to go. But Belmont got hot -- 4 of 7 shooting and 9 of 12 FTs in the last 6 minutes to get the lead and win by 4. Possible explanation about why this game was close: Belmont only got 41 minutes out of their bench players. Henry Harris did not play all weekend. No word as to why.

Jacksonville over Campbell -- Big road win for the Dolphins. 3 players post 20+ PEGs. 3 keys for Jacksonville here -- rebounding, rebounding, and rebounding. The Dolphins had a 21-13 board edge on their own misses. Plus they shot well on the road, which helps.

Kennesaw over Gulf Coast -- Wouldn't you know it. As soon as I start singing the Eagles' praises, they drop two straight. This one is particularly painful, as they led 16-3 at one point. Credit KSU for hanging tough, chipping away at the lead until finally pulling ahead. More credit for only committing 8 turnovers.

Upstate over Lipscomb -- Ouch. After playing so well at ETSU, to come out and lay an absolute egg at Upstate has to sting. Lipscomb came out flat, down as much as 10 in the first half, and this without Bobby Davis on the floor for the Spartans. The Bisons rallied, leading by 5 with 4 1/2 minutes left, but Upstate clamped down on defense, denying the Bisons a field goal the rest of the way. 4 Lipscomb turnovers later, Upstate is up 1 and a weird timeout/inadvertent whistle call sets the stage for one last defensive stand.

ETSU over Belmont -- Speaking of eggs. Belmont got par-boiled at ETSU Monday night. Nothign went right for the Bruins, shooting 28% from the field and only 20% (!!!) from 3-point range. ETSU didn't exactly set the world on fire offensively (sub 30% 3-point shooting, under 70% from the line, 15 turnovers), but the way things were going for the Bruins they didn't have to. A 16-2 first half run put them up 17. Once they hit the canvas, the Bruins simply never got up.

Campbell over North Florida -- Welcome back to the blog, Junard Hartley. UNF kept it close, leading in the second half and pulling within 2 in the last 3 minutes. But then, J-Rod goes J-Rod (offensive board, lay-up, block) ad Hartley sticks the dagger in with a 3-ball in he final minute to put the Camels up 7. Campbell did a good job taking care of the ball, committing a conference-weekend-low 6 turnovers.

ETSU and Jacksonville are tied at 7-1. Belmont is third at 6-2. Stetson, Mercer, and Campbell are all flirting with .500. Lipscomb is cruising toward a 7-seed in March, sitting 2-6 in a pack with the 4 transition schools.

See you next week.