Recap: Eastern Ky vs. Belmont

Richmond, KY (Sports Network) - Led by 21 points from Ian Clark, the Belmont Bruins downed the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 85-74, in an Ohio Valley Conference battle at McBrayer Arena.

For the Bruins (17-4, 8-0 OVC), J.J. Mann added 18 points, Kerron Johnson finished with 16 points and Trevor Noack chipped in 13 points.

Corey Walden led all scorers with 24 points for the Colonels (16-5, 6-2), while Mike DiNunno scored 15 points and Marcus Lewis finished with 11 points.

Belmont was on fire to start the game, knocking down 69.6 percent of its field goal tries, including a near-perfect 7-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bruins used a 14-1 run midway through the first to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point lead, and they went into halftime up by double-digits, 42-31. EKU shot the ball well too, making 47.8 percent of there shots from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point distance.

After intermission, both teams continued their hot shooting performances. The Bruins connected on 65.2 percent of their field goal attempts, including 4- of-7 from 3-point range. The Colonels did there best to keep it close, shooting 52.4 percent from the field and draining 6-of-11 from 3-point distance. Trailing by 12, EKU ran off eight unanswered points to narrow the gap to four, 75-71, with just under three minutes to play. Johnson answered that run with a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to end the Colonels' comeback bid, as the Bruins remained perfect in conference play and took over sole possession of first place in the East Division of the OVC.

Belmont had the edge on points in the paint, 30-22, and while the Colonels had a 19-12 edge in points from the free-throw line.