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KENNESAW, Ga. – Belmont converted 69.2 percent from the floor in the second half and 63.2 percent for the contest to pull away from the University of South Alabama men's basketball team and win 98-85 Monday afternoon at the KSU Convocation Center.

The game was hosted by Kennesaw State as part of the Legends Classic. The Bruins improve to 3-2 while the Jaguars fall to 1-3.

"I thought offensively we did some really good things," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We got in the paint, shared the ball and moved it around, and anytime you score 85 points you'd like to think that's enough to win, but unfortunately we were really hamstrung defensively; guys got into foul trouble and that's what Belmont does. They put you in tough situations defensively and we did not respond very well. That's what was disappointing to me."

Belmont used an 18-5 run late in the second half, the final 12 unanswered, to take a commanding 17-point lead with 3:37 left in the game. The Bruins made seven straight shots from the floor during the run, with six coming on layups.

"They're a really good offensive team and you're not going to win games doing that," Graves noted.

Belmont's Evan Bradds led all scorers with 30 points on 14-for-15 shooting. Craig Bradshaw had 17 points, Taylor Barnette added 15 on four 3-pointers and Nick Smith tallied 10 points.

The Jaguars had a season-high five in double-digit scoring with junior Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) pouring in a team-best 19, 15 coming before halftime. Junior Georgi Boyanov (Lovech, Bulgaria) totaled a season-high 16, while sophomore Taishaun Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) matched that total off the bench.

Juniors Nick Stover (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Don MuepoKelly (Fontana, Calif.) had 11 points apiece.

"Georgi shot a good percentage and it was good to see Ken get back on track and go 3 for 6 on 3s," Graves said. "Don was 5 for 5 and had 11 points. Offensively we did some really good things but we've just got to get stops."

South Alabama led for almost the entirety of the first half, despite making just one field goal over a 6:55 stretch. After falling behind 6-3, the Jags reeled off 12 of the next 14 points, helped by old-fashioned three-point plays from Stover and Boyanov, to go up 15-8.

With the Jaguars leading 27-20, they committed five turnovers and missed 6 of 7 shots over a six-minute stretch, but managed to stay ahead thanks to five free throws, and Williams broke a 34-34 tie with a 3-pointer at the 4:36 mark.

The Bruins went ahead just once after that before halftime.

"We were 1 for 12 from '3' in the second half, and I think when we go back and look, seven or eight of those were really good, open shots," Graves said. "If we want to compete for a championship this year, we've got to knock down those uncontested 3s. The way Belmont was guarding us, clogging the paint and allowing us to kick-and-shoot, we've got to make them pay when they do that, and unfortunately we weren't able to do that tonight."

South Alabama will play IUPUI in the consolation game Tuesday at 2 p.m. CST.

NOTES: Monday was the first-ever meeting between the two schools… After averaging 32.3 points with a 31.8 shooting percentage in the first half coming into the contest, the Jaguars scored a season-best 47 points in the first half and converted 47.1 percent from the floor… Boyanov grabbed a team-high nine rebounds after being held to a season-low three his last time out at LSU; he leads the team with a 7.5 per-game average… Boyanov is averaging 14.0 points in his last two games while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor… The Jags won the rebounding battle 36-34, with 15 of their 36 coming on the offensive glass… Williams rebounded from a 10-point outing at LSU to shooting 7 for 14 from the floor, and accounted for three of the team's six 3-pointers; he is now one shy of a tie for fifth place all time at USA with 152 in his career… Williams has dished out multiple assists in every game after recording two tonight… MuepoKelly is averaging 10.0 points in his last three games… Johnson handed out a game-high-tying four assists, the most by a Jaguar this season… The Jags seven steals are a new season high.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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