Belmont battled back from a late deficit to claim third place in the Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday, beating Oral Roberts 70-67 at Sullivan Arena.
Blake Jenkins led the way for Belmont, scoring a game-high 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting and adding four blocks. Kerron Johnson (20 points) and Trevor Noack (15 points) each hit 7 of 9 field goal attempts.
Shooting was the difference for Belmont (5-1), which hit 57.8 percent from the field compared to Oral Roberts' 37 percent.
The Golden Eagles (3-3) dominated the boards 42-23, getting a game-high 16 from Steven Roundtree (13 points) and seven from Hydaburg's Damen Bell-Holter (12 points).
A Noack's put-back just before the halftime buzzer put Belmont up 37-32. By the time Oral Roberts' Mikey Manghum hit a 3-pointer early in the second half, the score was tied 43-43, and then Oral Roberts' defense started to click.
With just more than 13 minutes remaining, Roundtree stole the ball from Johnson and raced the length of the floor for an easy layup to put the Golden Eagles up 51-48. The Bruins next possession ended on a blocked shot, and Warren Niles made them pay with a pretty drive and score to extend Oral Roberts' lead to 53-48.
Belmont absorbed the blows and evened things 56-56 on a corner trey by Noack, part of an 11-4 run that ended with three straight layups from Jenkins. Ian Clark's pretty assists on Jenkins first two layups and Jenkins third score in the sequence put Belmont up 67-60 with less than two minutes left.
Free throws accounted for the rest of the scoring, with Oral Roberts being forced to foul in an attempt to get back in the game.
BELMONT (70) -- Jenkins 8-9 5-8 22, Johnson 7-9 5-10 20, Mann 0-7 0-0 0, Clark 1-7 3-4 6, Noack 7-9 0-0 15, Lang 0-0 0-0 0, Laidig 0-1 0-0 0, Chamberlain 1-1 0-0 2, Bradshaw 1-1 0-0 3, Barnes 0-0 0-2 0, Baker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-45 13-25 70.
ORAL ROBERTS (67) -- Glover 0-7 2-3 2, Niles 1-4 1-1 3, Roundtree 5-10 3-9 13, Billbury 1-6 10-11 12, Bell-Holter 5-11 2-2 12, Conley 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 2-6 3-5 9, Kaufman 3-4 2-2 8, Manghum 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 20-45 23-33 67.
Belmont 37 33 -- 70
Oral Roberts 32 35 -- 67
3-point goals -- Belmont 5-14 (Jenkins 1-1, Johnson 1-1, Mann 0-4, Clark 1-4, Noack 1-2, Laidig 0-1, Bradshaw 1-1), ORU 4-13 (Glover 0-1, Niles 0-1, Billbury 0-2, Bell-Holter 0-1, Jackson 2-4, Manghum 2-4). Rebounds -- Belmont 23 (Noack 5), ORU 42 (Roundtree 16). Total fouls -- Belmont 25, ORU 23. Fouled out -- Johnson, Niles, Manghum. Assists -- Belmont 18 (Johnson 7), ORU 13 (3 with 3). Turnovers -- Belmont 14 (Mann 2), ORU 18 (Roundtree 5). Blocked shots -- Belmont 7 (Jenkins 4), ORU 3. Steals -- Belmont 7 (Mann 3), ORU 5 (2 with 2). Referees -- Spitznagle, Shields, Thomson). A -- 4,452 (announced).
By JEREMY PETERS