MISENHEIMER/>, NC/>/>- Belmont Abbey senior forward Anthony Bell led all players with 22 points, and senior guard Brooks Beard added 20, but Pfeiffer had four players reach double figures as the Falcons defeated the Crusaders 96-71 this evening at Merner Gym. The Crusaders fall to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the CVAC.

The Abbey shot 46 percent (29-63) from the floor and 35.3 percent (6-17) from three-point range as Bell/>/>finished 8-13 from the floor and 4-7 from three-point rage. He added four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals in 32 minutes. Beard sank nine of his 18 field goal attempts to go along with two assists and two steals in 33 minutes.

Belmont Abbey opened the contest by scoring the first four points of the game to take the early lead, but the Falcons took the lead for good on back-to-back trifectas, giving it a 6-4 advantage with just 2:23/> gone by. Pfeiffer's advantage grew to as high as 16 points, 36-20, with 9:17/> left before the Crusaders went on an 11-5 run to trim the lead to nine, 41-32, with 6:13/> left. Pfeiffer responded by outscoring the Abbey 19-5 in the last 5:24/>to take a 59-37 lead into the half.

The second half opened with the Crusaders fighting its way back into the contest, as it outscored Pfeiffer 20-10 in the first 6:42/> to close the lead to eleven at 69-58 with 13:18/> left in the half. Bell/>/> scored 13 of those 20 points, draining three treys and a pair of layups, but the Falcons answered the Abbey challenge with one of its own, racing out on a 10-0 run to build its lead to 21 points, 79-58, with 10:01/>left. From there, the Crusaders could get no closer than 19 points as Pfeiffer earned the win.

The Abbey is back in action Saturday afternoon at 4:00/> when it goes on the road to face Anderson/>/>.