Wednesday, March 02, 2011

MACON, Ga. – Top-seed Belmont Bruins advanced to the semifinal round of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Basketball Championship thanks to its 72-57 win against No. 8 Kennesaw State. The Bruins improved to 28-4, while the Owls closed the year at 8-23. Belmont’s victory was its 10th straight. The Bruins await the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 4 Lipscomb and No. 5 Mercer, which is set for 9 p.m.

The Bruins utilized its depth in clamping down on KSU in the second half, after taking a 35-28 advantage into the locker room at intermission. The Owls led by as much as seven points with 7:08 left in the first half before the Bruins turned the tables, taking the lead for good with 2:12 left on a three-point basket by Ian Clark.

Clark finished with a team-leading 14 points, hitting four-of-nine from the field all three pointers, while also grabbing six rebounds. Mick Hedgepeth was the only other Bruin in double-figures with 12 points and a team-leading seven boards. Belmont’s bench made the difference in the game by outscoring the Owls’ reserves by a margin of 30-2.

KSU’s Markeith Cummings topped all scorers with 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Spencer Dixon poured in 15 points. The Owls’ LaDaris Green had a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.

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