Belmont routs Fla. Gulf Coast 89-56
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott Saunders had 16 points and Belmont tied a school record with 18 steals in an 89-56 rout of Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night, sweeping the season series.
The Bruins (19-4, 11-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) used an 18-0 run to break an 8-8 tie.
After the Eagles closed to 42-32 at halftime, Belmont opened the second half with a 24-4 run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gulf Coast (5-14, 2-8) could get no closer than 24 after that.
The Bruins forced 29 turnovers, a Curb Event Center record, and shot 47.6 percent from the field (30 of 63), hitting 11 of 30 3-pointers.
Belmont, which won the first meeting 83-51 on Jan. 3, avoided losing two games in a row after its 73-64 loss to Lipscomb on Tuesday snapped a nine-game winning streak.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ian Clark added 15 points for the Bruins.
Christophe Varidel scored 15 to pace the Eagles, who shot 37 percent from the floor (17 of 46).