Box Score
CHESNUT HILL, Mass. - - Behind a career-high 35 points from sophomore Adam Kunkel (Hebron, Ky.), Belmont University men's basketball defeated Boston College, 100-85, Saturday afternoon in the Gotham Classic.
Kunkel, who scored 28 points Nov. 11 vs. Samford, went 10-for-20 from the field - including 5-for-9 from 3-point distance - and 10-for-10 from the free throw line in leading Belmont to an impressive road victory.
"That was a tremendous performance by our team, in particular the shooting and unselfishness to start the second half," Belmont head coach Casey Alexander said. "Adam (Kunkel) is playing with confidence that his teammates are feeding off of, and I thought we had a number of guys step up when we needed to, as Boston College played well offensively. We were able to string together some stops and scores, and the guys kept the focus and effort-level up."
Belmont led 49-45 at halftime, but used an overwhelming 30-9 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to seize command. Junior Nick Hopkins (Fayetteville, Tenn.) capped the scintillating run with a wing 3-pointer to make the score 79-54 with 12:08 remaining.
All told, Belmont shot 53 percent from the field - including 15-for-26 from 3-point distance.
"I just enjoy playing basketball, and the coaches and my teammates put me in positions to succeed," Kunkel said. "We all love playing together and competing, and this was a fun game against a great Boston College team. We just wanted to attack and share the ball."
Hopkins scored a season-high 15 points on his birthday, while sophomore Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) added 13 points and six rebounds. Senior Michael Benkert (Greenwood, Ind.) added 10, while sophomore Grayson Murphy (Franklin, Tenn.) had nine points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Nik Popovic led Boston College (3-1) with 23 points.
The win comes nearly six years to the day of Belmont's monumental win at six-time National Champion North Carolina, and is the latest marquee victory for the Bruin program; Belmont has defeated the likes of North Carolina, UCLA, Cincinnati, Marquette, Missouri, Alabama, Stanford, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Temple in recent years.
Belmont (2-1) returns to game action Monday, Nov. 18 vs. High Point. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. 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.
Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 13 of the last 14 seasons, including eight berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 17 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 RPIs nine consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont is one of only nine NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 14 consecutive seasons (BYU, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, San Diego State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 17 CoSIDA Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of existence.
