NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Carter Whitt's 18 points helped Belmont defeat Murray State 70-60 on Sunday.

Whitt added six rebounds and seven assists for the Bruins (21-10, 13-7 Missouri Valley Conference). Tyler Lundblade shot 5 of 9 from the field, including 3 for 7 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 5 from the line to add 18 points. Jonathan Pierre shot 6 for 14 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line to finish with 17 points, while adding nine rebounds.

The Racers (15-16, 9-11) were led in scoring by Nick Ellington, who finished with 19 points and two blocks. Murray State also got 12 points and seven assists from Jacobi Wood. AJ Ferguson had nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Belmont took the lead with 16:42 left in the first half and did not give it up. Pierre led the team in scoring with 15 points in the first half to help put them ahead 41-22 at the break. Belmont used a 7-0 run in the second half to build a 10-point lead at 66-56 with 4:09 left in the half before finishing off the win.

Belmont finished fourth and Murray State seventh in the MVC regular season. Murray State will play on Thursday and Belmont takes the court on Friday in the conference tournament at St. Louis.

------

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.