DELAND, Fla. – J.J. Mann came off the bench to score 12 points and starter Ian Clark added 10 points as Belmont defeated Stetson 70-53 in an Atlantic Sun Conference game Wednesday night.
Belmont (12-3, 4-0), which never trailed after the 12:50 mark of the first half, provided Rick Byrd his 500th victory in his 25th season as coach of the Bruins. It was his 592nd win overall as a college head coach.
Stetson (4-10, 2-2), loser of its last 12 meetings with Belmont, was led by 14 points from Corey Waldren, 13 from Ridge Graham and 12 from Steve Forbes.
Trailing 11-9 at 13:02 of the first half, Belmont scored 10 unanswered points — four by Blake Jenkins — over the next three minutes to forge a 19-11 advantage.
The Bruins used that 10-0 run and Stetson's cold shooting (7 for 22, 31.8 percent) to forge an 11-point advantage at the half, 38-27.
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