Memories of March Madness fuel Lexington’s Barnette upon homecoming

Taylor Barnette knows a thing or two about winning basketball. Last year, the Belmont University junior made the game-winning three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game. But prior to knocking down clutch buckets and clinching championships, Barnette got his start in Rupp Arena.

“When I was little I got to be a ball boy,” he said. “I’ve been to plenty of games at Rupp, but being a ball boy is one that sticks out the most. Kentucky beat Michigan State at home, and it was a great experience. Being in Kentucky and growing up there, there’s just something different about being a basketball fan. I played a lot of different sports, but basketball was always my favorite. It’s a great tradition in Kentucky.”

Barnette was born and raised in Lexington, where he was a basketball standout at Lexington Christian Academy, finishing his career second on the school’s all-time scoring list. On Thursday night, he returns to the area when Belmont visits Eastern Kentucky in Richmond.

Barnette has gotten to see three Kentucky teams win the NCAA Tournament and seven UK teams make Final Four appearances.

After spending many months of March during his childhood cheering on Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, last year Barnette got to experience that thrill as a player at Belmont.

“It was a dream come true,” said Barnette, who transferred to Belmont after one season at Virginia. “Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament. I’m thankful to have played in it alongside teammates and for a great program. I hope we can get back there this year.”

The Bruins want to build on last year’s NCAA appearance, which ended in an opening-game defeat.

Belmont (18-9, 10-3 Ohio Valley Conference) is tied with Tennessee Tech for first place in the East Division.

Barnette is third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points a game.

There is work to do to earn a bid to the big dance, Barnette is confident in his team’s ability to achieve its goals.

“We’ve got three big games left in the regular season,” Barnette said. “We trust each other. We trust our coaching staff. We know how good we can be, and we want to reach that full potential. But we know that we can win a championship. We know that we can do really well. We’ve just got to stay humble, stay hungry, and believe in each other.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Memories of March Madness fuel Lexington’s Barnette upon homecoming."