Mathews, Cooper help Lipscomb beat Belmont 69-54

Dec 5, 2017, 03:47 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Garrison Mathews had 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and Kenny Cooper scored a career-high 18 points to help Lipscomb beat Belmont 69-54 on Monday night in the Battle of the Boulevard.

The schools are located three miles apart on the same street and Lipscomb (6-3) won its second in a row, after losing 11 straight, in the 142-game series. The Bison, who won at Belmont on Nov. 27, swept the season series for the first time since 2009.

Cooper hit a jumper and then a 3 to cap a 10-1 opening run as Belmont (5-5) missed its first four shots and the Bison led the rest of the way. Lipscomb went scoreless for eight minutes and the Bruins scored 12 straight points to pull within one, but an 18-3 spurt that spanned halftime made it 36-20 with 16 minutes to go. Belmont twice cut its deficit to eight before Mathews scored six consecutive points to give Lipscomb a 63-47 lead with 4:29 remaining.

Kevin McClain had 14 points, Mack Mercer scored 13 and Dylan Windler 12 for Belmont.