Box Score CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball defeated Austin Peay, 82-77, Saturday afternoon to open OVC play.
The Bruins, who have now won seven straight conference openers and 14 of their last 15, got a career-high 28 points from senior Taylor Barnette (Lexington, Ky.) in the victory.
Four different Bruins scored in the opening five minutes, including freshman Seth Adelsperger (Peru, Ind.) who gave Belmont an early 10-7 lead.
At the 12:19 mark, sophomore Dylan Windler (Indianapolis, Ind.) picked up his second personal foul, limiting his availability.
A 3-pointer from senior Nick Smith (Bentonville, Ark.) and a basket from senior Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) extended the lead to 20-14 nine minutes in.
Then after a steal and acrobatic save at the scorer's table by junior Austin Luke (Rowlett, Texas), Barnette went behind the back and scored in traffic to keep the lead at four.
But Josh Robinson capped a 7-0 Austin Peay response to give the hosts a 27-24 lead at the 6:14 mark.
But Smith sparked an 11-1 Bruin run to close the first half, as his buzzer-beating, putback basket along the baseline gave Belmont a 40-32 halftime lead.
Belmont shot 46 percent (16-for-35) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, and held an 18-0 advantage in points off the bench.
Both teams opened the second half in fine form, as conventional 3-point plays from junior Amanze Egekeze (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) and Barnette increased the margin to 52-39 with 16:23 left.
Belmont had several chances to break free - including a wing 3-pointer from Smith that dipped out and a driving layin attempt from sophomore Kevin McClain (Jennings, Fla.) that spun out - yet Austin Peay hung around.
After an Egekeze 3-pointer, baskets from John Murry and Robinson trimmed the margin to five, 66-61, with 6:50 to go.
Egekeze and Barnette again provided answers, as the duo combined on five points to push the Bruins back out to a 73-62 edge with 4:42 left.
Windler delivered a timely offensive rebound basket to keep the Bruins ahead eight, 76-68, with 2:21 remaining.
But a 3-pointer from Chris Porter-Bunton and one Kenny Jones free throw got the Governors within 76-72 with 56 seconds left.
Luke responded with a driving layin with 35 seconds remaining to extend the Belmont lead to six.
Belmont had to withstand an empty trip at the charity stripe and a Robinson 3-point attempt that whirlpooled out with 10 seconds left, but Barnette secured the victory from the free throw line.
All told, Belmont shot 49 percent (31-for-63) from the field, outscoring Austin Peay in the paint, 42-26.
Aside from Barnette's 28, Bradds added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Egekeze had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Smith had 11.
Josh Robinson led Austin Peay (4-11, 0-1 OVC) with 27 points.
Belmont (7-4, 1-0 OVC) returns to game action Thursday, Jan. 5 vs. UT Martin. Tip-off is set for 6 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. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.
NOTES: Belmont has won an NCAA-best 221 conference games since 2006 ... Belmont has won eight of the last nine meetings with Austin Peay, including four consecutive in Clarksville ... Barnette's previous career-high was 27 (vs. Trevecca, 11/19/14) ... Burton Sampson grabbed a career-high four rebounds ... Luke had seven assists and zero turnovers in 36 minutes of action.
