Butler takes down Belmont 67-56
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) β Roosevelt Jones scored 20 points and Butler took down Belmont 67-56 on Sunday.
Jones was 8 of 12 from the floor, grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists. Kellen Dunham added 15 points, including four 3-pointers and the Bulldogs (10-3) shot 48 percent from the floor and outrebounded Belmont 38-21.
Craig Bradshaw paced Belmont (8-5) with 11 points and Evan Bradds had 10.
Belmont built an 11-point lead with 8:48 left in the first half but Butler erased that in a span of 3:03 with a 14-4 run. Dunham's 3-pointer with 1:44 left lifted Butler to a 39-38 halftime lead.
An 8-0 run midway through the second β in which Belmont went 0 of 9 and missed two free throws β pushed Butler to a nine-point lead.
Bradshaw's 3-pointer drew Belmont to within three at 49-46 with 13:34 left in the game, but that was the last field goal the Bruins hit for over 8 minutes.
Jones started the run with a layup, and then Tyler Wideman hit 1 of 2 from the line before hitting a jumper and tip-in on consecutive possessions. Jones' free throw stretched the lead to 57-46 with 6:26 left before Taylor Barnette ended Butler's run with a 3-pointer.
Belmont went cold again down the stretch, though, as Butler ended the game on a 10-4 run, including Kameron Woods' dunk with 30 seconds left to cap the scoring. Belmont made just 2 of its last 7 shots of the game.
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TIPINS
Butler: The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and has won 20 straight non-conference games at home. Dunham has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season.
Belmont: This was the fourth matchup between Belmont and Butler (3-1 in the series). Belmont faced Butler interim head coach Chris Holtmann 13 times when he was with Atlantic Sun Conference member Gardner-Webb from 2010-2013.
UP NEXT
Butler travels to No. 7 Villanova on Wednesday.
Belmont hosts Southeast Missouri State on Thursday.