JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — Mick Hedgepeth scored 17 points to lead five Belmont players in double figures as the Bruins cruised to an 82-70 Atlantic Sun Conference win over East Tennessee State on Monday night.
Belmont (14-7, 7-2) shot 52.7 percent (29 of 55) compared to 36.8 percent (21 of 57) for the Buccaneers.
The Bruins, coming off a 79-78 loss to South Carolina-Upstate, led 27-12 at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead until Jarvis Jones drained three free throws to make it 79-70 with 36 seconds left.
Ian Clark added 14 points, Kerron Johnson and Adam Barnes scored 12 each and Drew Hanlon chipped in 10 for Belmont, which has won three of its last four.
Sheldon Cooley and Marcus Dubose scored 18 each to lead East Tennessee (10-9, 5-4), whose only lead was at 1-0.
Belmont and ETSU have been the lone A-Sun representatives in the NCAA Tournament the last six years.
