NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Behind torrid first-half shooting, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Northern Iowa, 76-72, Saturday from the Curb Event Center.
Belmont shot 71 percent from the field in the first half, including 10-for-16 from 3-point distance.
Baskets from
Drew Friberg and
Keishawn Davidson on the Bruins' first two possessions got the offensive momentum going.
After Northern Iowa took a 12-10 lead on free throws from Tytan Anderson,
Cade Tyson capped an 11-0 Belmont run with a driving slam.
Ben Sheppard made four consecutive 3-point field goals to start the game, the final of which increased the Belmont lead to 16, 37-21, 13 minutes in.
Belmont also received continued production from
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, whose confident offensive play provided a lift in the half court and in transition.
A Gillespie 3-pointer gave Belmont a 44-31 lead at halftime.
Eight Bruins scored in the first half.
Northern Iowa was able to use 15 points off turnovers to position itself for the second half.
Trey Campbell got the Panthers within 44-36 with 17:36 left, before scores from Tyson,
Derek Sabin and Sheppard pushed the margin back to 15.
Gillespie and Northern Iowa leading scorer Bowen Born would each battle leg cramps in the second half, impacting the flow and narrative of the game.
Northern Iowa made adjustments and found defensive stability in the second half, and methodically worked back into the game.
Baskets from Campbell, Michael Duax and timely 3-pointers from Landon Wolf made the score 63-55 with 7:09 remaining.
Gillespie found Friberg for a timely basket before Sheppard excited the student section with a determined drive and conventional 3-point play to give Belmont a 70-60 lead with 4:05 left.
Reserve forward Drew Daniel led a final Northern Iowa charge with consecutive driving baskets.
As Belmont endured a rare scoring drought on some clean looks, two free throws and a turnaround jump shot from Campbell got Northern Iowa within 70-68 with 1:41 left - the closest UNI had been since 13-12.
After an exchange of defensive stops, Daniel fouled Sheppard on a drive to the basket with 24 seconds remaining.
Sheppard made both free throws to extend Belmont's lead to four points.
From there, Northern Iowa turned to Anderson who proceeded to miss a driving shot attempt from the left side.
Belmont was awarded possession with 18 seconds left, but possession was changed to Northern Iowa upon monitor review.
Anderson would score along the baseline to close the margin to two points.
Upon the inbounds, Northern Iowa fouled
Isaiah Walker with 10 seconds left.
The eighth team foul on Northern Iowa sent Walker to the free throw line for one-and-one.
He calmly sank both free throws to give the Bruins a four-point lead and make it a two-possession game.
Daniel would score with 3.7 seconds left and Northern Iowa would then foul Sheppard.
As was the case with Walker, Sheppard made both free throws to secure the outcome.
All told, Belmont shot 51 percent from the field and made 14 3-point field goals.
Sheppard led four Bruins in double figures with 22 points. He added four rebounds and two assists.
Friberg had 15 points and six rebounds, while Gillespie had 14 points and four assists.
Tyson scored 10.
Campbell led Northern Iowa (9-9, 5-3 MVC) with 16 points.
Belmont limited the UNI scoring duo of Bowen Born and Tytan Anderson to 18 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
Belmont (13-6, 6-2 MVC) returns to game action Tuesday vs. Murray State. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center.
Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 15 of the last 17 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 five NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 rankings 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19Â CoSIDAÂ 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
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