Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind a game-high 19 points from freshman JaCobi Wood (Cleveland, Tenn.), Belmont University men's basketball defeated Tennessee State, 88-63, Friday night.
Belmont held Tennessee State scoreless the opening three and a half minutes, but disjointed play and unforced errors inhibited the Bruin offense.
Managing early fouls for junior Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) and sophomore Ben Sheppard (Atlanta, Ga.), Belmont got a nice lift from sophomore Derek Sabin (Slinger, Wis.) with six quick points midway through the half.
Belmont led 34-27 at halftime.
Junior Luke Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) set the tone for the second half with a 3-pointer on the Bruins' first possession out of the locker room. From there, consecutive 3-pointers from sophomore Mitch Listau (Waunakee, Wis.) increased the Belmont lead to 47-32 with 16:38 left.
Tennessee State closed within 50-42 on a Shakwon Barrett 3-pointer, but a second-chance slam from freshman Even Brauns (Iowa City, Iowa) capped an 11-0 Belmont response to make the score 61-42 with 10:32 remaining.
"It's a 40-minute game so all of them matter, but I enjoyed the second half far more than the first," said Belmont head coach Casey Alexander. "We had too many empty possessions in the first half, but after halftime we looked much more like the Belmont team we want to be."
Belmont shot 67 percent from the field in the second half - including 7-for-13 from long distance.
Belmont outrebounded Tennessee State, 42-24, and forced 21 Tiger turnovers.
Wood paced four Bruins in double figures, as Listau added a career-high 11 points.
Muszynski and Smith each scored 10 points.
All 12 Bruins who played in the game scored as Belmont posted a season-high 49 bench points.
"I was pleased with our bench production, and hope that will inspire confidence for those guys," Alexander added. "Having Grayson (Murphy) back was great. His energy and push in transition in the second half helped get us going."
Barrett led Tennessee State (0-3) with 17 points.
Belmont (7-1, 2-0 OVC) returns to game action Monday, Dec. 21 at Evansville. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 14 of the last 15 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 19 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 rankings 10 consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 15 consecutive seasons (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, 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.
