Point Guards Lead Men's Basketball Past Northern Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - - Behind a career-high 24 points from Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Northern Iowa, 83-75, Sunday from the McLeod Center.
 
Gillespie added four assists and three steals as Belmont secured a Top-3 finish in its inaugural Missouri Valley Conference season and a first-round bye in next week's conference tournament.
 
Belmont managed early foul trouble from star senior Ben Sheppard - who picked up two personal fouls in the first four minutes - overcoming an early seven-point deficit to take control late in the first half.

Sparked by Gillespie's electric play, the Bruins also got timely contributions from Isaiah Walker and Derek Sabin in scoring 13 of the final 17 points of the opening half.

Belmont led 38-36 at halftime. Despite some uncharacteristically cold outside shooting, the Bruins were sharp and poised in committing one first-half turnover.
 
3-pointers from Keishawn Davidson, Drew Friberg and Cade Tyson keyed a 14-0 Belmont run to make the score 57-41 with 14:15 remaining.
 
Gillespie found Even Brauns for a slam as Belmont led 61-47 with 11:32 left.
 
Northern Iowa proceeded to make a significant run with leading scorers Bowen Born and Tytan Anderson on the bench.
 
A Landon Wolf layin tied the score at 65 with 6:09 remaining.
 
From there, Belmont responded as a Gillespie conventional 3-point play and two Sheppard free throws gave the Bruins a five-point lead.
 
Northern Iowa closed within 73-69 before Tyson came up with a huge blocked shot on a Trey Campbell layin attempt, ultimately leading to two Gillespie free throws.
 
Gillespie would then steal the subsequent Northern Iowa inbounds pass, enabling Belmont to run valuable time with possession.
 
Belmont went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 2:10.
 
All told, Belmont shot 47 percent (29-for-62) from the field.
 
The Bruins forced 13 turnovers and outscored Northern Iowa, 40-32, in points in the paint.
 
Davidson had 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Tyson had 15 points, four rebounds and two steals.
 
Wolf led Northern Iowa (13-17, 9-11 MVC) with 21 points.
 
Belmont limited Born and Anderson to 17 combined points on 4-for-16 shooting.
 
Belmont (21-10, 14-6 MVC) will play Indiana State or Evansville Friday in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 MVC Tournament.

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 13 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas). 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 19 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