Belmont 79, Stetson 70

Published Feb. 18, 2010 10:47 p.m. ET

foxsports

Freshman guard Ian Clark scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Belmont to a 79-70 win over Stetson on Thursday night, moving the Bruins into a three-way tie for first in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Belmont (17-10, 12-5) won its sixth straight game and eighth of its past nine to move into a share of first with Campbell and Jacksonville.

Stetson (6-21, 4-14) was eliminated from participation in next month's Atlantic Sun tournament.

Belmont's Mick Hedgepeth scored 19 points, including 15 in the first half that helped give the Bruins a 32-29 lead at the break.

Stetson's A.J. Smith led all scorers with 23 points and Joel Naburgs had 15 off the bench. Ridge Graham added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Stetson led 64-55 with 6:45 to play before the Bruins went on a 15-2 run. Clark scored 10 points in the final 5:42.