WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 105, Carson-Newman 56
Troy 60,
@Jacksonville State 55
BELMONT 105, CARSON-NEWMAN 56
NASHVILLE - Behind six double figure scorers, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Carson-Newman, 105-56, Wednesday night.
The Bruins handed out a program-record 32 assists on 40 made field goals, shooting 56 percent from the field for the game.
Belmont used a 21-2 run to close the half - with sophomore Grayson Murphy having a hand in 10 points during the run - as Belmont led 46-22 at halftime.
Belmont made eight of nine 3-point field goal attempts during an overwhelming run of play that extended into the second half; junior Nick Hopkins gave Belmont a 62-27 lead with 16:04 remaining.
The Bruins limited Carson-Newman to four made field goals within a 16-minute stretch of the game.
Junior Garrett Suedekum had the honor of getting Belmont to the 100-point mark, just as he did earlier this season in the Bruins' victory at Boston College Nov. 16.
Belmont limited Carson-Newman to 29 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers.
Freshman Ben Sheppard led Belmont with a career-high 18 points. Sophomore Adam Kunkel had 17 points, while sophomore Nick Muszynski added 15 points and six rebounds.
Sophomore Tate Pierson scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting, while freshman Mitch Listau had a career-high 11 points and eight assists. Hopkins scored 10.
Zailan Peeler led Carson-Newman (4-5) with 13 points.
Belmont (7-3) has won 116 of its last 125 home games.
TROY 60, JACKSONVILLE STATE 55
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team came up short Wednesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum, falling 60-55 to Troy at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
A 10-0 run by the Trojans (4-6) and a seven-minute scoring drought from the Gamecocks (2-7) helped hand JSU its first home loss of the season.
Jacksonville State held a two-point advantage entering the second half and led as late as the 6:26 mark. That disappeared quickly when Troy turned its five-point deficit into a five-point lead on its 10-point run.
It took a Kayne Henry free-throw at 2:22 to put JSU on the board for the first time since Derek St. Hilaire hit a jumper halfway through the period. Despite the Henry freebie, the Trojans never let their lead dip below three for the remainder of the game.
The Gamecocks took a 30-28 lead to the locker room, shortened only by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Troy's Darian Adams.
Both teams lived and died by the 3-pointer in the first half. Troy hit four on 16 attempts and Jacksonville State was 8-for-22. Elias Harden and De'Torrion Ware each tallied three from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Henry walked away scoring a team-high 14 points and game-best eight rebounds, while Ware (13) and Harden (12) each scored in double-figures.