Belmont 66, Alabama St. 53

Published Dec. 20, 2010 10:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

J.J. Mann scored 15 points and Belmont held off Alabama State 66-53 on Monday night.

The Bruins (9-2) jumped out to a 9-0 lead, keeping the Hornets (2-9) scoreless for the first 10:08.

Alabama State, however, answered with a 16-2 run to lead 16-11 on Ivan Johnson's free throws with 4:57 left in the first half. The Hornets made it 18-14 with 3:39 to play in the half before Mann scored 10 straight. His 3 with 1:19 left until halftime put the Bruins ahead 24-18.

Belmont, which shot 31.3 percent in the first half (10 of 32), made 52.2 percent (12 of 23) in the second to win its third straight.

The Bruins outscored Alabama State 38-31 in the second half, in which they led by as many as 20.

Ian Clark finished with 12 points and Drew Hanlen had eight assists and four steals for Belmont.

Ivory White had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.