Men's Basketball Defeats Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - - Behind 21 points from Tyler Lundblade and a double-double from Drew Scharnowski, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Evansville, 83-78, Tuesday night from the Ford Center.
 
Lundblade was 5-for-8 from the field and made all eight of his free throw attempts while Scharnowski added 14 points and 10 rebounds to keep Belmont undefeated away from home this season.
 
Game officials assessed Evansville with an administrative technical foul prior to the start of the game for not submitting its starting lineup in time.
 
Lundblade made one free throw before the opening tip.
 
Belmont would proceed to lead the entire 40 minutes.
 
A conventional 3-point play from Bez Jenkins gave Belmont a 9-2 lead three minutes in.
 
Two Sam Orme 3-pointers around a Scharnowski basket made the score 26-15 with 8:36 left in the first half.
 
After four Evansville points, an emphatic slam from Brigham Rogers, an Eoin Dillon 3-pointer, and two Lundblade free throws pushed the margin to 14 points.
 
A Rogers teardrop off an assist from Isaiah West gave Belmont a 41-30 lead at halftime.
 
Belmont limited Evansville to 9-for-30 shooting in the first half. The Aces used nine free throws to stay within reach.
 
Lundblade led Belmont with 11 first-half points.
 
It was an inauspicious start to the second half as two empty Bruin possessions were exchanged by two off-the-radar Evansville 3-pointers to cut the margin to five, 41-36, with 18:42 left.
 
A Lundblade 3-pointer and five Jenkins points pushed the Belmont lead back to 13, 51-38.
 
And though Belmont held Evansville scoreless for over four minutes, the Bruins could not take full advantage offensively.
 
Trent Hundley would make three 3-pointers in a 68 second span to get Evansville within 53-47 with 11:58 left.
 
Three determined dunks from Scharnowski and a Jack Smiley layin provided a strong response, as the lead grew back to double figures.
 
Strong defense and scores from Lundblade, Orme, and Rogers kept the margin at three possessions most of the second half before 10 consecutive points from Leif Moeller got Evansville within 75-72 with two minutes left.
 
Following two Win Miller free throws, Lundblade scored along the baseline to extend the lead to 77-72 with 1:47 remaining.
 
After one Joshua Hughes free throw and an Evansville defensive stop, Belmont played a strong defensive possession before AJ Casey banked in a deep 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to get the hosts within one.
 
Belmont then turned to Smiley, who drove the lane and made a timely mid-range shot to give the Bruins a 79-76 lead with 24 seconds left.
 
Belmont proceeded to force Evansville off the 3-point line, with the Bruins whistled for a foul on a Bryce Quinet two-point field goal attempt with 11 seconds left.
 
Quinet would miss both free throws and Smiley would secure the rebound.
 
He and Lundblade would make four free throws in the final six seconds to secure the outcome.
 
All told, Belmont shot 48 percent from the field – including 54 percent in the second half.
 
The Bruins outscored Evansville, 38-20, in points in the paint, and were plus-seven in fast break points.
 
Belmont handed out 19 assists and forced 13 Evansville turnovers.
 
Lundblade led three Belmont players in double figures with 21 points.
 
Scharnowski had 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 10 rebounds for his second double-double this season. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Lipscomb Nov. 19.
 
Orme had 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots.
 
Smiley provided eight points, five rebounds, and four assists.
 
Hundley led Evansville (4-8, 0-1 MVC) with 20 points.
 
Belmont has won all six games away from home this season, by a combined 124 points.
 
Belmont (11-1, 2-0 MVC) returns to game action Friday at UC Irvine.
 
Belmont season tickets – which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule – are on sale now at belmontbruins.com/tickets. 
 
To become a Bruin Club member, contact Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.
 
Belmont University men's basketball has been a postseason fixture for the last two decades, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (behind Gonzaga and Kansas). Belmont has won 20 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and Oregon) and 19 or more games in 20 consecutive seasons (alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State). Belmont is among select programs with two or more first-round selections in the NBA Draft over the last six years (Ben Sheppard, Dylan Windler). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 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 its existence. Belmont is the only NCAA Division I institution in America whose men's and women's basketball programs have won 20 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons.