MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball dropped an 83-62 decision at Middle Tennessee Thursday night.
The Bruins entered having won seven of the previous eight games in the fiercely-contested series, but the host Blue Raiders sought to change the script.
A conventional three-point play from senior
Craig Bradshaw (Ridgetop, Tenn.) and a basket from sophomore
Mack Mercer (Plymouth, Ind.) gave Belmont an early 7-5 lead.
Despite missing eight of their first nine shots from beyond the arc, a three-pointer from freshman Dylan Windler (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the Bruins within 18-14 nine minutes in.
After a jumper from Quavius Copeland, Bradshaw and junior
Nick Smith (Bentonville, Ark.) drained consecutive three-pointers to push Belmont within 24-20.
Another deep three-pointer from Bradshaw made the score 35-31 before Middle Tennessee closed the half on an 11-4 run.
Baskets from Perrin Buford and Copeland gave Middle Tennessee a 46-35 halftime lead.
Belmont shot 42 percent (13-for-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes - including 6-for-17 from three-point distance.
Junior
Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) had eight points and 10 rebounds at the break.
Belmont looked for a fast start to the second half, but again struggled to find its shooting range.
As the Bruins missed seven of their first eight shots from beyond the arc to open the second half, Middle Tennessee built a 58-40 advantage on an interior basket from Buford.
Sophomore
Tyler Hadden (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 10 second half points, but the Bruins simply could not work into a rhythm.
All told, Belmont shot 38 percent (23-for-61) from the field, including 9-for-30 from three-point distance.
Bradshaw led Belmont with 16 points, while Bradds had his 11th career double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Buford led Middle Tennessee (7-2) with 20 points.
Belmont (7-5) returns to game action Saturday, Dec. 19 at Cleveland State. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. The live play-by-play of
Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network and 104.5 The Zone.
