NASHVILLE, TENN. - - In one of its strongest performances of the season, Belmont men's basketball led wire-to-wire in defeating ETSU Saturday, 100-89.
In their second leg of a three-game conference homestand, the Bruins once again brought focused, communicative team defense to the table from the opening tip.
An acrobatic layin from junior Jon House (Guelph, Ont., Canada) off a timely feed from freshman Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) gave Belmont a 6-0 lead just over three minutes in.
After ETSU clawed within one, junior Jordan Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) buried consecutive three-point field goals as Belmont went ahead 12-5 six minutes in.
A straight-on trey from freshman Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) and two free throws from sophomore Mick Hedgepeth (Crossville, Ala.) stretched the lead to 21-10 midway through the first half.
As Belmont continued to force ETSU into uncomfortable, contested shots in the halfcourt, the Bruins showed great patience and unselfishness in attacking the Buc defense.
Two three-pointers from sophomore Drew Hanlen (St. Louis, Mo.) highlighted a 16-3 Bruin run late in the first half to extend the margin to 40-18.
The Bruins led 44-22 at halftime.
It was high marks all around for Belmont in the opening 20 minutes: 52 percent (11-for-21) shooting - including eight three-point field goals, a 22-to-13 rebounding advantage, while holding ETSU to 26 percent shooting.
Hedgepeth kept the momentum going into the second half with two quick field goals. Then following a Micah Williams jumpshot, Clark poured in eight points in a 90 second span give Belmont a 56-31 lead with 14:31 left.
Freshman Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) and Hanlen each added treys before sophomore Scott Saunders (New Orleans, La.) scored an interior basket to provide the Bruins a 69-37 lead with 11:45 to go.
After a near-flawless first 31 minutes, from there, the youthful Bruins seemed to take a brief mental vacation. A convergence of unsavory ball-handling, poor decision-making, quick shots and missed free throws characterized the final nine minutes.
Concurrently, ETSU's group of talented players played hard to the very end and caught fire from all angles.
Though the outcome had long been settled, the Bucs shaved roughly two-thirds from the Bruin lead.
Given ETSU pressed and fouled to extend the game, numerous statistical oddities resulted: Belmont registered its ninth 100-point game of the NCAA era and first since Dec. of 2007. Moreover, the Bruins attempted a program-record 50 free throws, including 29 in the second half.
Lastly, the 123 combined points scored in the second half eclipsed the total points for 14 Atlantic Sun games this year.
All told, Belmont shot 55 percent (27-for-49) from the field - including a season-high 14-for-27 from three-point distance. Belmont outrebounded ETSU, 42-28, and handed out 19 assists on 27 field goals.
Clark led four Bruins in double figures with 24 points. Hedgepeth added his second consecutive and fifth career double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Campbell had 14 points and five rebounds while Hanlen added 13 points and five assists.
Williams led ETSU (10-10, 6-3 Atlantic Sun) with 21 points.
The Bruins have defeated ETSU in nine of the last 12 meetings.
Belmont (11-9, 6-4 Atlantic Sun) returns to action Tuesday night vs. Lipscomb. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm CT from the Curb Event Center. The game will be broadcast live on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS).
The live play-by-play from Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network, with video streaming via ASun.TV.
At time of release, a limited number of tickets remain for the Belmont-Lipscomb game. Call 615-460-BALL for ticket information.
