NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to game action Saturday at Austin Peay.
Belmont defeated Cleveland State, 88-61, Dec. 22. Sophomore Kevin McClain (Jennings, Fla.) scored a career-high 13 points for the Bruins.
Senior Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) scored 19 points, passing J.J. Mann ('14) for sixth place on the Bruins' NCAA era career scoring list. Bradds has 1,526 career points.
Bradds had two different game experiences vs. Austin Peay last season. Bradds faced double and triple teams from the outset in the first meeting in Nashville, and was limited to two points (1-1 FG), 12 rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes in Belmont's 76-58 victory. In the OVC Tournament, Bradds set an OVC Tournament record going 15-for-16 from the field and scoring 32 points.
Junior Amanze Egekeze (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) averaged 15 points per game vs. Austin Peay last season, including 17 points and seven rebounds in the OVC Tournament.
Belmont head coach Rick Byrd and Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos are the deans of the OVC; combining on 67 years of coaching and 1,232 career victories.
Belmont's 89-83 victory at Austin Peay (1/17/15) was the 700th career victory for Coach Byrd.
Belmont associate head coach Brian Ayers is a Clarksville, Tennessee native, who served on the Governors' coaching staff during the 1995-96 season while earning his master's degree.
This marks the 46th meeting between Belmont and Austin Peay, 19th of the Bruins' NCAA era, and sixth in OVC play. Belmont had won seven consecutive meetings - including 76-58 (1/16/16) at the Curb Event Center - before Austin Peay won, 97-96, in overtime in the 2016 OVC Semifinal Round.
Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. CT. 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 and 104.5 The Zone.
Belmont at Austin Peay Game Notes
