JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kerron Johnson scored 15 points to lead Belmont to a 76-70 win over Jacksonville on Thursday night.
Mick Hedgepeth added 14 points and Scott Saunders had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins (21-4, 13-1 Atlantic Sun Conference), who have won three consecutive games.
Belmont led throughout, but Jacksonville (14-7, 8-4), which had a three-game winning streak snapped, stayed close and cut the margin to 70-67 on Keith McDougald's layup with 1:08 remaining.
Johnson, however, hit four consecutive free throws to push the margin to 74-67 with 14 seconds left.
Johnson was 9 for 9 from the line and the Bruins finished 15 of 19 (78.9 percent).
Ian Clark added 12 points for Belmont.
McDougald scored 15 points, Russell Powell had 12 and Ayron Hardy and Delwan Graham scored 10 each for Jacksonville, which shot 55.2 percent from the field (16 of 29) in the second half.
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