Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind 20 points from graduate student Tyler Scanlon (Centreville, Va.), Belmont University men's basketball defeated Tennessee State, 72-65, Saturday night.
With the victory, Belmont secured its 11th regular season conference championship in the last 15 years - sixth since joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2013.
"I'm happy for this group, and this championship," Belmont head coach Casey Alexander told belmontbruins.com following the game. "From where we were to get to this point took a great deal of commitment and purpose from this team, and I could not be prouder of our players and staff. It wasn't always pretty, and credit Tennessee State. They have been really tough to beat here. But we had guys step up and make plays."
While the majority of Belmont's rotation was part of last year's OVC championship and NCAA Tournament team, Scanlon was not; and he came out singularly-focused and determined from the opening tip.
Showcasing an array of offensive shots, the Boston University transfer Scanlon scored 15 points in the first 10:21 of the game.
Five points from junior Nick Hopkins (Fayetteville, Tenn.) and a layin from sophomore Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) gave Belmont a 23-9 lead eight and a half minutes in.
Sophomore Grayson Murphy (Franklin, Tenn.) had a hand in eight straight points as the lead increased to 38-23 with 4:15 left in the first half.
Belmont led 40-30 at halftime.
Belmont shot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 4-for-9 from 3-point distance.
However, after scoring the final five points of the first half, Tennessee State capped a 12-0 run on a Michael Littlejohn 3-pointer to get within 40-37 with 18:42 remaining.
But an interior basket from Muszynski and a Scanlon 3-pointer pushed the Belmont lead back to eight.
Sophomore Adam Kunkel (Hebron, Ky.) provided huge scoring production midway through the half to counterbalance the play of Littlejohn and Carlos Marshall.
Belmont led 62-53 with nine minutes left following another Murphy finish, but four opportunities to extend the lead rimmed out and enabled Tennessee State to work back into the game.
Tennessee State got within 64-61 with 4:08 left on a Wesley Harris 3-pointer.
However, Belmont answered back, scoring seven straight points - punctuated by a Muszynski slam - to make the score 71-61 with 1:41 remaining.
All told, Belmont shot 53 percent (28-for-53) from the field and forced 18 Tennessee State turnovers.
Muszynski had 19 points and two blocked shots, while Murphy added 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
A Murray State victory over Austin Peay Saturday gave Belmont the No. 1 seed in the OVC Tournament, and an invitation to the Postseason NIT.
Belmont (24-7, 15-3 OVC), which has won 10 consecutive games to close regular season play, returns to game action Friday, March 6 in the OVC semifinal round. The Bruins will play either No. 4 seed Eastern Kentucky, No. 5 seed Tennessee State, or No. 8 seed Morehead State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.
2020 OVC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
