NASHVILLE, TENN. – Belmont hit 14
three-pointers and dealt Campbell a 75-64 defeat Thursday in
Atlantic Sun men's basketball action at the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins (21-8, 13-2) won
their ninth-straight game and their 12th in the last 13 outings
since suffering an 83-75 setback Jan. 5 at Campbell. Belmont canned 14-of-28 threes,
including 9-of-15 in the first half when the Bruins closed the
period on an 18-7 run and took a 44-28 lead at the break. Campbell was unable to cut the
gap to single digits the rest of the way.
Campbell (10-18, 5-10) dropped its
sixth-consecutive contest, but rallied from a 24-point deficit in
the final period to cut the final margin to 11. Andy Wicke's triple with 9:41
remaining provided Belmont with its largest lead of 24 points
(62-38) before the Camels responded with a 22-8 run. That burst closed with a 9-0 Camel
spurt capped by Reggie Bishop's three that cut the margin to 70-60
with 1:01 remaining, but the Camels drew no closer.
Wicke led Belmont with 17
points, including 4-of-9 three-pointers. Justin Hare scored all 10 of his
points in the first half.
Shane Dansby added nine, while Matthew Dotson and Henry Harris
chipped in eight apiece for Belmont, which shot just 39.7 percent
from the field overall, but made half of its attempts from long
range.
Reggie Bishop led Campbell
with 20 points, including 4-of-7 threes and 6-of-6 from the
line. Jonathan Rodriguez,
who entered the game as the A-Sun's leading scorer at 21.6 points
per contest, was held without a field goal until 7:41 was left in
the game, but finished with 16 points, including 8-of-8 from the
line, while pulling down a career-high 18 rebounds.
Rodriguez extended his
double-figure scoring streak to 36-straight games, the longest in
the A-Sun. Hartley matched
his season high with 9 rebounds, plus five assists from his point
guard spot.
Campbell shot just 34.5 percent for
the game, making 6-of-17 from 3-point territory, but canned
18-of-21 (.857) free throws and held a 43-35 edge on the
boards.
The Camels close the regular
season Saturday at Lipscomb in an 8:15 p.m. (CST) tip-off. Lipscomb will also host the
A-Sun Championship tournament Mar. 5-8 at Allen Arena.
