Belmont rolls into OVC semis with 97-64 victory over EIU

Posted March 04, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Craig Bradshaw made five 3-pointers on his way to 23 points and third-seeded Belmont overwhelmed sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois 97-64 in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Thursday night.

Belmont will take on No. 2 seed Eastern Kentucky on Friday night.

Evan Bradds and Nick Smith, the latter with four 3-pointers, scored 14 points each for Belmont (20-10) with Amanze Egekeze adding 12 and Mack Mercer 10. Reece Chamberlain added nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists. The Bruins shot 61 percent and made 16 of 27 from beyond the arc (59.3 percent). Belmont had a 38-23 advantage on the boards.

Reggie Smith scored 17 points, Trae Anderson 13 and Cornell Johnston 11 for the Panthers (17-14).

The Bruins took off to a 15-0 lead in the first 3:32 of the game and had a 47-24 halftime lead. An 11-0 run late in the game had Belmont up by 39 points.

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