THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 92, Carver 57
Belmont 87, @Lipscomb 83
TENNESSEE STATE 92, CARVER 57
NASHVILLE - Head Coach Brian “Penny” Collins earned the first win of his Tennessee State men’s basketball career as the Tigers cruised to a 92-57 victory over visiting Carver on Thursday night at the Gentry Center.
With the score tied at 22-22 with 11 minutes left in the first half, TSU (1-2) embarked on a 22-5 run to gain the upper hand in the game. TSU continued to dominate in the second half, outscoring the Cougars (0-7) by a 45-28 score in the final 20 minutes.
Five Tigers scored in double figures led by 15 points from Kamar McKnight and 14 from Emmanuel Egbuta in his TSU debut. Also reaching double-digit points were Jalen Duke (11), Michael Littlejohn (11) and Dave Morris (10).
BELMONT 87, LIPSCOMB 83
NASHVILLE - With Senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler mired in foul trouble, Belmont University men's basketball rose to the occasion in defeating Lipscomb, 87-83, Thursday night.
Windler was limited to six points in 17 minutes, spending the majority of the evening on the bench after picking up a string of loose ball fouls.
But after the Bruins surrendered an early 13-2 lead, the team responded with a 13-4 finish to the first half to lead 37-34 at halftime. Freshman Caleb Hollander led Belmont with 13 first half points.
Timely bench contributions from juniors Seth Adelsperger and Michael Benkert helped Belmont extend to a 65-46 advantage with 11:37 remaining. In addition, strong drives from senior Kevin McClain and freshman Grayson Murphy helped maintain a working margin.
But Lipscomb worked into the bonus just five and a half minutes into the second half, as its 22 free-throw attempts after the break slowly enabled them to work back into the game. Two free throws from freshman Nick Muszynski gave Belmont a 77-64 lead with 5:37 to go, before the Bisons answered back.
After being held in check from long distance for the majority of the game, Lipscomb sank four consecutive 3-pointers over a 2:25 stretch to get within 77-76 with 3:12 remaining. But two free throws and an offensive rebound basket from Hollander pushed the Belmont lead back to five with 2:04 left. Following a Lipscomb score, Murphy buried an end-of-shot-clock 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining to make the score 84-78.
When Belmont broke Lipscomb pressure for a Windler slam with 30 seconds left, the Bruins led 86-80. But a deep, contested Garrison Mathews 3-pointer and two Bruin missed free throws gave the hosts one final possession to tie. However, Hollander shot the gap on a wing entry pass, gathering a steal and racing downcourt. Eventually, freshman Tate Pierson would be fouled with under two seconds remaining. Pierson's one free throw provided the final margin.
All told, Belmont shot 55 percent (34-for-62) from the field - including 9-for-22 from 3-point distance. The Bruins outrebounded Lipscomb, 40-28, and blocked shot Bisons' shots.
Hollander led four Bruins in double figures with a career-high 21 points. Murphy added 17 points, five rebounds and six assists. Muszynski and McClain each scored 16.
Mathews led Lipscomb (2-1) with 27 points.