Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind 24 points from Ben Sheppard, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Tennessee State, 87-67, Saturday from the Curb Event Center.
Sheppard went 9-of-14 from the field and added three steals as Belmont improved to 81-5 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference home games.
Belmont also joined Gonzaga as the only two progams in America to finish Top 2 in regular season conference standings 17 consecutive seasons (Belmont, 12 regular season conference championships, 5 second-place finishes).
Sheppard and Grayson Murphy fueled an electrifying 24-3 run midway through the first half.
A Will Richard steal and dunk gave Belmont a 27-15 lead 10 and a half minutes in.
After Kenny Cooper closed the margin to four, Belmont ended the first half on a 16-5 run.
Determined drives from Sheppard and JaCobi Wood gave Belmont a 46-31 halftime lead.
Belmont shot 58 percent (19-of-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 16 points off 11 Tennessee State turnovers.
Belmont established Nick Muszynski inside in the second half, as a 3-pointer from Tate Pierson and an Even Brauns offensive rebound basket increased the lead to 20, 61-41 with 14:15 remaining.
Sheppard added 10 points in the second half as strong bench contributions from Michael Shanks kept Belmont in command.
All told, Belmont shot 56 percent (36-of-64) from the field – including 10 3-point field goals.
Belmont, the national leader in assists, handed out 20 assists and scored 52 points in the paint.
Richard had 13 points, while Murphy provided 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Murphy had three steals in the first half to tie the OVC all-time career steals record (279, Van Usher, Tennessee Tech 1989-92).
Muszynski added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Belmont five graduate students – Muszynski, Murphy, Pierson, Luke Smith and Caleb Hollander - improved their career record at Belmont to 104-23.
Kassim Nicholson and Carlos Marshall, Jr. led Tennessee State (13-17, 8-10 OVC) with 17 points each.
Belmont (25-6, 15-3 OVC) earned the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament and will play in the semifinal round Friday, March 4 from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. CT.
Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 14 of the last 16 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 rankings 11 consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 18 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
