Box Score FORT MYERS, Fla. - - Belmont men's basketball used torrid second half shooting and solid defense throughout to defeat Florida Gulf Coast, 83-51, Monday night.
The Bruins entered the game shooting a uncharacteristically tepid 15-for-61 from three-point distance in their last two games. And in the first half, that trend would not correct itself.
An interior basket from freshman Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) off a timely feed from junior Scott Saunders (New Orleans, La.) capped an 8-0 run to give the Bruins a four-point lead five minutes in.
But with Eagle big man Kevin Cantinol mired in foul trouble, FGCU mixed halfcourt zone and man-to-man defenses to keep the Bruins out of the paint. And while clean looks materialized, Belmont perimeter shots continued to rim off.
Sophomore Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) was one of the few Bruins in the first half to find the range, and his baseline three-pointer gave Belmont a 17-9 lead midway through the first half.
With Belmont hounding FGCU in the halfcourt, the Bruins slowly built a working margin.
A Saunders layin increased the lead to nine, 26-17, with 1:42 left in the half before a final Eagle spurt. After a conventional three-point play by Anthony Banks and free throws from Reed Baker, Sherwood Brown sank a 28-foot shot at the first half horn to trim the Bruin lead to three, 28-25.
Belmont held FGCU to 30 percent shooting and forced 10 first half turnovers, but 2-for-15 three-point shooting and 2-for-9 free throw shooting took Bruin points off the board.
After senior Jon House (Guelph, Ont., Canada) scored a second effort basket to open the second half, FGCU inched within 32-31 on two Banks free throws. But House would answer with a baseline three-pointer, which proceeded to rip a lid of the Bruin basket and ignite one of the most impressive scoring runs in recent memory.
Another Noack three-pointer and a determined steal and conventional three-pont play from freshman J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.) increased the lead to 41-31 with 16:31 left.
Following a Tim Snyder basket, Belmont kept the torrid shooting coming. Senior Jordan Campbell (Indianapolis, Ind.) and sophomore Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) teamed to make six straight three-pointers over a five minute stretch to blow the game open.
The lead swelled to 65-40 with 9:24 left. All the while, Belmont held FGCU without a made field goal for an eight and a half minute stretch.
Bruin depth, strong defense and outside shooting opened up high percentage shots at the rim in the final 10 minutes.
Consecutive layins from sophomore Adam Barnes (Clarksville, Tenn.) provided the largest lead, 83-47, with 1:23 left.
Belmont shot 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field for the game - including 63 percent in the second half. The Bruins outrebounded FGCU, 35-27, and forced 25 Eagle turnovers.
Clark led four Bruins in double figures with 17 points. Saunders had 14 points and five rebounds. Campbell scored 13, while Noack added 12 - his third straight game recording a new career-high.
Banks led FGCU (3-9, 0-3 Atlantic Sun) with 13 points.
Belmont (11-3, 3-0 Atlantic Sun) returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 5 at Stetson. Tip-off is set for 6:15pm CT. The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network.
