The men’s Basketball team earned their first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season after topping the Eastern Illinois Panthers 87-55 Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center. .
This much needed win comes after a tough and unexpected 79-69 loss at their conference home-opener against SIUE on Thursday.
Both teams began the match lacking offensively, until a tip from sophomore Nick Muszynski put the first numbers on the board.
The Panthers responded to Belmont’s offensive efforts until the Bruins go on a 9-0 run with back-to-back threes from sophomores Adam Kunkel and Tate Pierson, along with graduate transfer Tyler Scanlon bringing the Bruins lead to 10.
The Panthers answered by ending an over two minute drought with a finger roll by junior George Dixon.
Back-to-back threes by Caleb hollander brings the Bruins lead to 28-15, forcing the Panthers to use their second timeout at the midway point of the first half.
EIU Found new momentum in the final minutes of the half, but the Bruins have an answer every time, extending the lead with each possession.
Despite tough defense in the paint from the Panthers, they couldn’t mirror at the perimeter, letting Belmont go 8-12 from behind the arc, ending the first half with the Bruins leading 44-32.
Muszynski and grad student Tyler Scanlon led the Bruins in scoring at the half, both in double figures with 13 points and 11 points respectively.
The Bruins continued to control both ends of the floor, going on a 10-1 run to start the second half.
The Panthers shortly answered with a 7-0 run of their own after four Belmont turnovers, bringing the score to 54-40 in favor of the Bruins.
Muszynski ended a three minute scoring drought with a layup at the 13 minute mark, fed from the outside by freshman Mitch Listau.
At tough layup and free throw from Wallace brought EIU within 10, but Belmont’s Grayson Murphy responded quickly with a 3-pointer.
The Bruins dominated the second half with a 22-5 run to end the game and pick up the impressive win.
Muszynski led the Bruins win with a double-double, earning 25 points and 16 rebounds. The win couldn’t come, however, without the 13 threes from eight different players on the Bruins squad. Scanlon ended his night with 17 points shooting 7-9 from the field.
Sophomores Caleb Hollander and Kunkel also had great games. Hollander scored 8 points and rebound six in the Bruins win. Kunkel dropped 13 points and shot 3-6 from behind the arc.
The Bruins head to Cape Girardeau, Missouri next to take on the South Eastern Missouri RedHawks. Tip off is set at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.
—
Article written by Julieann Challacombe. Photos by Bronte Lebo.