Box Score ANCHORAGE, Alaska - - Belmont University men's basketball outlasted Oral Roberts, 70-67, Saturday night in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
The Bruins, after dropping a heartbreaker to Northeastern hours prior, looked to complete their four-game, eight-day west coast odyssey on a positive note.
The game would feature two championship-rich, non-BCS programs in new surroundings – Belmont moving from the Atlantic Sun to the Ohio Valley and Oral Roberts moving from the Summit League to the Southland.
On the game's first possession, senior Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) scored in the lane to get Belmont out quickly. However, the Bruins would surrender three offensive rebounds on ORU's first offensive possession, which ultimately led to a short jumper from Alaska native Damen Bell-Holter.
Consecutive three-pointers from Johnson and junior Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) pushed Belmont to an 8-4 lead three minutes in.
Belmont also got timely production off the bench from senior Brandon Baker (Milford, Ohio) and sophomore Reece Chamberlain (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) to keep a modest lead in the opening minutes.
Oral Roberts was unable to get its prolific scorer - at the tune of 24 points per game - Warren Niles, untracked early, as a the combination of Ian Clark's defense and mild foul trouble kept him in check.
Nonetheless, the Golden Eagles claimed their first lead at 19-18 on a conventional three-point play from Korey Billbury.
A baseline three-pointer from Clark and a driving basket from Johnson pushed Belmont to a 25-21 lead with 6:05 left in the half.
ORU would again equalize at 27, before senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) capped a 6-0 Belmont run to give the Bruins a 33-27 lead with 3:11 left in the half.
Following a Mikey Manghum three-pointer, a short jumper by Johnson and an acrobatic tip-in by Noack sent Belmont to the locker room up five, 37-32.
Belmont shot 58 percent (14-for-24) from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including 3-for-8 from three-point distance. The Bruins forced 11 Golden Eagle turnovers in the first half.
Johnson and Jenkins each had 11 points for Belmont at halftime.
Two baskets by Noack helped the Bruins maintain a five-point edge, before two Jorden Kaufman free throws and another Manghum three-pointer enabled ORU to tie the score at 43 with 15:45 left.
Kaufman then added two more interior baskets to put the Golden Eagles ahead momentarily at 47-45.
On the next Belmont possession, Johnson drove and found freshman Craig Bradshaw (Franklin, Tenn.) for a baseline three-pointer to put the Bruins back on top.
From there, Belmont would endure a four-minute scoring drought, which allowed ORU to seize control.
A conventional three-point play from Niles and two D.J. Jackson free throws gave the Golden Eagles a 56-48 edge with 11:19 remaining.
Despite some misfortune and uncharacteristic free throw misses, the Bruins remained poised and battled through adversity. Three points from Jenkins and two free throws from Johnson inched Belmont within 56-53 with 8:29 left.
Then following a Billbury turnover, the Bruins labored in an offensive possession before Noack made a dramatic, twisting deep corner three-pointer against the shot clock to tie the score at 56 with 7:42 remaining.
Both teams proceeded to have turnovers and missed opportunities over the next two-plus minutes before a short jumper from Steven Roundtree put ORU back on top with 4:58 left.
Before the ink dried on the scoresheet, Johnson raced downcourt in a flash and sliced through the entire Golden Eagle defense for an eye-popping and one basket to give Belmont a 59-58 lead.
After a Manghum miss, Johnson again showcased his full offensive arsenal, weaving through an ORU double team for another tough basket and a 61-58 Bruin lead with 3:51 left.
The Belmont momentum continued, as after a Shawn Glover missed jumper, Clark found Jenkins all alone in transition for two and a five point advantage.
Following two Roundtree free throws, Clark found Jenkins open on a textbook baseline out-of-bounds play to put Belmont back ahead 65-60 with 2:32 remaining.
Roundtree would be fouled on the next Golden Eagle possession, but miss both free throw opportunities.
Johnson proceeded to work the Bruin possession and find Jenkins for another interior basket and a 67-60 Belmont lead with 1:55 left.
The Bruins maintained their defensive intensity, and following one Clark free throw led 68-61 with 42 seconds left.
But more unusually off-note Bruin free throw shooting – five misses from the charity stripe in the final moments – gave ORU life.
Four Billbury free throws in an eight second span trimmed the margin to 68-65 with 25 seconds left.
But after an ORU foul, Clark calmly made both of his free throw attempts to push the lead back to five.
A Bell-Holter layin with 0.3 seconds left provided the final margin.
All told, Belmont shot 58 percent (26-for-45) from the field – including 5-for-14 from three-point distance.
The Bruins handed out 18 assists on 26 made field goals while forcing 18 Golden Eagle turnovers.
Jenkins paced three Bruins in double figures with a career-high 22 points and four blocked shots. Johnson added 20 points and seven assists. Noack had 15 points and five rebounds.
While Clark could not repeat his virtuoso nine three-pointer, 29-point performance from the evening before, the senior from Memphis was the lead figure in holding talented ORU leading scorer Warren Niles to one transition basket and three points in 30 minutes of action.
Roundtree led Oral Roberts (3-3) with 13 points.
Belmont (5-1) returns to action Saturday, Dec. 1 at VCU. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast live on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and Comcast Mid-Atlantic. The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network.
NOTES: Ian Clark and Trevor Noack were named to the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team ... Sophomore Chad Lang gave Belmont a nice lift with two rebounds and a blocked shot off the bench ... Jenkins, Johnson and Noack were a combined 22-for-27 from the field.
