NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Belmont’s men’s basketball team came from behind at home in Nashville on Saturday, using a decisive second-half surge to beat Furman 72-62 and hand the Paladins their first loss of the season.
Vincent Neugebauer paced the Bruins with 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. Jack Smiley chipped in 15 points to go with six assists and three steals, and Jabez Jenkins reached double figures with 10 points. The win lifted Belmont to 3-1 on the season, and it marked the third time in four games that the Bruins have come away with a victory. Three Belmont players finished with at least 10 points.
Furman controlled much of the first half and took a 33-30 edge into the locker room, with Neugebauer accounting for eight of the Bruins’ points before the break. The Paladins pushed their margin to five early in the second half before Belmont took over the game.
The Bruins ripped off a 21-2 run that flipped the five-point hole into a 60-46 cushion with 5:08 left to play. Furman could not climb back from there, and Belmont closed out a 10-point victory over a team that had arrived unbeaten. In all, the stretch amounted to a 19-point swing in the scoreboard margin over a short span of the second half.
Cameron Elwer led Furman with 13 points, Tom House scored 11 and Charles Johnston added 10. Furman also had three players reach double figures, but none of them topped 13 points, and the Paladins dropped to 4-1.
Both programs are back on the court Wednesday. Belmont stays home to take on Union of Kentucky, while Furman goes on the road to face Radford.
Section: More Nashville TN sports news
Nashville sports business profiles
Filed under: Nashville TN Sports News
