EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - - Craig Bradshaw (Ridgetop, Tenn.) and Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) scored 22 points each as Belmont University men's basketball defeated SIU Edwardsville, 85-77, Wednesday night.
Bradds and sophomore Amanze Egekeze (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) combined to score the Bruins' first 19 points of the game as Belmont raced out to a 19-9 lead eight minutes in.
But from there, the Bruins endured a five minute scoring drought as SIU Edwardsville closed within one point.
With sophomore point guard Austin Luke (Rowlett, Texas) in foul trouble, freshman Kevin McClain (Jennings, Fla.) provided a huge lift off the bench.
Four McClain baskets in a four minute span helped preserve the lead.
Bradshaw delivered consecutive conventional three-point plays as the Bruins closed the half on an 11-0 run to lead 42-29 at halftime.
Belmont shot 56 percent (18-for-32) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while holding SIU Edwardsville to 28 percent shooting.
Egekeze led Belmont with 12 first half points.
But just as the Bruins looked to build off momentum gained to close the half, the Cougars clawed back into the game.
Following two Bradds baskets, C.J. Carr closed the margin to 46-40 with 17:18 left.
Four points from Bradshaw staved off the Cougar charge momentarily, but behind the spirited play of Keenan Simmons SIU Edwardsville inched closer.
A three-pointer from Burak Eslik tied the score at 59 with 10:46 remaining.
Freshman Dylan Windler (Indianapolis, Ind.) answered back with a conventional three-point play to put Belmont back on top by three.
Moments later, Egekeze added a determined interior basket and Bradshaw drilled a straight-on three-pointer to give Belmont a 67-60 lead with 8:01 left.
Yet SIU Edwardsville, averaging under five three-pointers per game on the season, got back-to-back treys from Carr and Carlos Anderson to get within one.
Then after Windler and Yemi Makanjuola exchanged baskets, junior Nick Smith (Bentonville, Ark.) sank an enormous baseline three-pointer to push the lead back to four, 72-68, 4:31 remaining.
Belmont forced a turnover on the Cougars' next possession before Bradshaw made a difficult, baseline fadeaway jumper to stretch the advantage to six.
Bradds pumped home four straight points, before Bradshaw essentially secured the game with an eye-popping 30-footer at the end of the shot clock with 57 seconds to go.
All told, Belmont shot 56 percent (31-for-55) from the field - including 7-for-18 from three-point distance. The Bruins outrebounded SIU Edwardsville, 34-32.
Bradshaw and Bradds led four Bruins in double figures with 22 points each. Bradds added 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double over the last nine games. Egekeze had 14, while McClain scored a career-high 12.
Simmons led SIU Edwardsville (3-12, 0-3 OVC) with 21 points, all in the second half.
Belmont (10-6, 2-0 OVC) returns to game action Saturday versus Eastern Illinois. Tip-off is 2 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center. The game will be broadcast on OVC Digital Network. The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network.
NOTES: Belmont concludes a stretch of 12 out of 16 games on the road to start the season ... Belmont improves to 4-0 lifetime against SIU Edwardsville ... Belmont outscored SIU Edwardsville in bench points, 22-11.
