NASHVILLE – Evan Bradds scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead five players in double figures as Belmont claimed a 103-82 win over Jacksonville State on Thursday evening.
Amanze Egekeze added 16, while Craig Bradshaw and Nick Smith each scored 15 and Reece Chamberlain had 11 points for Belmont.
Avery Moore scored a career-high 20 points to lead Jax State, while
Darion Rackley had 17 and
JaQuail Townser finished with 17 points to lead the Gamecocks.
"We've played most of the team in our league, Belmont is a team that can certainly win the tournament, especially with the way they shot the ball tonight," said JSU head coach
James Green.
Belmont sank a season-high 70.8 percent from behind the arc after hitting the most 3-pointers by sinking 17-of-24 this season, as Bradds led the Bruins with seven treys.
Jax State held an early 4-2 lead, but Belmont scored 10 straight points to take a 12-4 lead on Reece Chamberlain's putback with 15:53 left in the first half.
The Bruins pushed the lead to 28-10 after Caleb Cowbay sank a 15-foot jumper with 10:02 left in the first half, but a basket by Rackley and back-to-back Townser cut the led to 28-16 with 8:48 left in the half.
Belmont answered and extended the lead to 33-16 on a pair of free throws by Egekeze with 6:33 left, but the Gamecocks battled back over the next four minutes.
Jax State used a 23-2 run over the next 5:18 to slice Belmont's lead to 39-35 with 1:16 left in the first half as Moore sank three 3-pointers as the Gamecocks hit 8-of-12 from the field.
Belmont sank a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to hold a 45-35 lead at the half.
The Bruins opened the second half and used a 20-6 run and finished the half shooting 63 percent after hitting 17-of-27 from the field over the final 20 minutes of the game.
"If you can shoot 70 percent by shooting 23 shots from behind the arc, you are going to be tough to beat," Green added. "And, if you look at our numbers and we score 82 points and shoot 48 percent, you would be pretty pleased, but not the result we were looking for."
Jacksonville State returns to action on Saturday against Tennessee State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Gentry Center in Nashville.
