Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind 23 points and six rebounds from Ben Sheppard, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Austin Peay, 72-58, Monday from the Curb Event Center.
Sheppard, following his career-high 41-point performance Saturday, went 8-of-12 from the field.
Nick Muszynski added 16 second-half points as Belmont overcame a 31-24 halftime deficit.
A Grayson Murphy steal and score gave Belmont a 34-33 lead with 15:58 left.
The Bruins got strong bench contributions from Tate Pierson, as his outside shooting and an inside score from Even Brauns highlighted a 9-0 run to make the score 49-39 with 10:57 to go.
Austin Peay got within seven points on four separate occasions, before a Pierson 3-pointer and five Sheppard points gave Belmont a 15-point lead with 4:08 remaining.
Belmont made 16 of its first 19 field goal attempts in the second half, shooting 71 percent from the field in the second 20 minutes.
Murphy had 11 points.
Caleb Stone-Carrawell led Austin Peay (7-14, 3-8 OVC) with 16 points.
Belmont becomes the first program in America to secure 20 or more victories in 12 consecutive seasons; Gonzaga, Kansas and Oregon have the opportunity to reach the standard.
Belmont (20-5, 10-2 OVC) returns to game action Thursday vs. Morehead State
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 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
