Evansville holds off Belmont for 93-88 win

Evansville, Ind. (AP) D.J. Balentine and Egidiju Mockevicius combined for 53 points as Evansville held off Belmont for a 93-88 win on Saturday.

Balentine made 12 of 21 shots from the floor for 27 points and Mockevicius was 10 of 15 from the line for 26 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Jaylon Brown added 13 points and Mislav Brzoja chipped in 12.

Baletine and Mockevicius have both scored over 1,000 points in their careers.

Evansville (3-0) held a 45-35 halftime advantage but the Bruins (2-2) won the second half 53-48. The Purple Aces were up 76-63 with 6:15 left in the game following a Blake Simmons' trey. Evan Bradds made a layup to start a 17-8 run as Belmont closed to 84-80 with 1:46 left. Evansville made enough free throws down the stretch for the win.

Belmont, which was 35 of 63 (55.6%) from the floor, was led by Bradds with 28 points and 14 rebounds.