Keishawn Davidson is back in the startling lineup for Belmont. Photo courtesy of Belmont University

On Saturday, Nov. 25, something happened to Keishawn Davidson that he had never experienced.  

As his Belmont team took the court for the opening tap against Penn, Davidson headed to a seat on the bench. He was not part of the starting lineup.

“It’s never happened to me in my life, in my career,’’ said Davidson.

Belmont was coming off an awful loss, a 93-84 rout at the hands of Monmouth the day before. In no way did Bruins’ coach Casey Alexander blame that loss on Davidson and Malik Dia, who was also removed from the starting lineup.

However, with Davidson and Dia coming off the bench but playing a lot, the team noticeably improved and went on a five-game winning streak.

Individually, for someone like Davidson who’s been the starting point guard at Oakland High School and Tennessee Tech, it was an adjustment that could go either way.

He made the decision to be positive.

“Keep going,’’ said Davidson about his reaction to the lineup change. “I’m the captain of this team. The young guys look at me, I have to be a good role model for this team to be successful.

It can be frustrating. It’s part of the game.

“Just trying to stay level headed, not let it beat me up too much. Stay consistent in my work. Being a leader for this team.’’

He adjusted and was still an important part of the team. Alexander was not surprised.

“Kei’s been a real pro all the way through,’’ he said. “We’ve done nothing but try to encourage him and build his confidence and make sure he knows that we believe in him.

“It’s one thing when you’re asking people to do something for the first time or you’re not sure, but he has a really demonstrated ability to be a good player over the course of his career.

“Maybe something like this – a reset – and being thrust into a have-to situation, is good medicine for him.’’

Davidson is back in the lineup because Ja’Kobi Gillespie will be out for a few weeks with an injured wrist. He had a quality game against Drake in an 87-65 victory Sunday afternoon. He played nearly 30 minutes, scoring 14 points and passing off for two assists. He made 5 of his 9 shots, which is a marked improvement from his play this season.

He’s only made 34 percent of his shots and 25 on threes; the worse percentages since his freshman year at Tech.

“All my shots feel good,’’ he said. “Some just don’t go in. I have confidence from my teammates, my coach. They all believe in me. They tell me to keep on shooting because they know how I can shoot the ball. The shots are going to start going in.’’

Davidson will be back in the starting lineup Wednesday night when Belmont hosts Illinois State at 6:30 p.m. He’s hoping for a repeat of Sunday’s big victory over Drake.

“I’m so proud of this team and the outcome we had,’’ he said. “It shows how good this team can be. We’ve got to keep this thing rolling.’’

Joe Sullivan can be reached at josephsullivan1974@gmail.com. Follow him on X @GlobeSullivan