BELMONT/>, NC/>/> - Belmont Abbey sophomore guard Jonathan Jackson scored a career-high 33 points, converting 11-18 field goal attempts, and senior forward Anthony Bell added 30 and sophomore guard Deonte Murphy totaled 21, as the Abbey held off a late Pfeiffer rally to defeat the Falcons 110-107 tonight before a crowd of over 300 at the Wheeler/> Center/>/>. The Abbey, which snaps a four game losing streak, improves to 5-12 overall and 4-7 in the CVAC, while the Falcons fall to 13-5 overall and 7-4 in the CVAC.

Jackson/>/>, whose previous career high was 12 points, finished with 17 in the first half. He sank three of his six three-point field goal attempts and eight of his nine free throw attempts, including one with seven seconds left to provide the winning margin. Bell/>/>added a career-best 30 points on 8-17 shooting from the field, and an 11-13 effort from the free throw line. He also had eight rebounds, two assists and three steals in 35 minutes. Murphy also set a career-best with 21 points on 7-12 shooting, including a 2-4 effort from three-point land. He dished out a game-high seven assists and recorded one steal in 38 minutes.

The first half was a run-and-gun affair as the two teams combined to score 56 points through the first ten minutes of the game. The Falcons raced out to a 21-9 lead with 15:02/> left before the Crusaders embarked on an 18-7 run to tie the contest at 28 with 10:11/> left. After a Falcons three-pointer allowed them to regain the lead, the Crusaders went on a 4-0 mini run to take its first lead of the game at 32-31 with 9:01/>left. The two teams would exchange leads on its next two trips down the floor until Pfeiffer grabbed a 41-38 lead with 5:17 remaining, but the Abbey again fought back by closing the half on a 16-11 run, punctuated by a layup from Murphy with 16 seconds left to give the Abbey a 52-51 halftime lead.

The Crusaders outscored the Falcons 56-55 in the second half as it never surrendered its lead, building it to as high as 12 at 88-76 with 7:10/> left. With the Abbey leading 64-63 with 15:48/> left in regulation, it ran off a 24-13 run over the next 8:38/> to build its lead to its highest point of the contest, 12 points. Jackson/>/>scored 12 of those 18 points, as he started it with a layup, and freshman forward Chad Patus punctuated it with a layup to increase the Crusaders lead to 88-76.

Pfeiffer responded with a 12-8 run to close the lead to five at 95-90 with 2:49 left, but the Abbey answered in kind, countering with a 6-0 run in the next 48 seconds to stretch its lead back to ten points with 2:00 left. Pfeiffer would not go away, embarking on a 9-2 run to trim the lead to three at 103-100 with 44 seconds left.

With Pfeiffer forced to foul, Murphy sank two free throws with 42 seconds left to push the lead back to five at 105-100. After a Falcons basket closed the lead back to three with 35 seconds left, Bell/>/> hit two more free throws to widen the gap back to five. Another Pfeiffer basket trimmed the lead to three, and after Bell/>/>was fouled, he hit the first of two free throws to up the lead to four at 108-104 with 27 seconds left. After a Falcons free throw inched them back to three with 19 seconds left, Murphy pushed it back to four with a free throw with 15 seconds left. Murphy missed the second free throw and was grabbed by DeMario Greer, but he stepped out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Crusaders with 14 seconds left.

Two free throws from Robert McGriff with seven seconds left cut the Abbey lead to two. But with seven seconds left, Jackson/>/> was fouled. He hit the first free throw to widen the gap to 110-107. Jackson/>/>missed the second, but Abbey forward Arturs Papans pulled down the rebound in a crowd, and was fouled with three seconds left. Papans missed both of his attempts and Grier had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his desperation heave from 50 feet hit off the backboard, allowing the Abbey to hold on for the win.

The Abbey shot 56.7 percent (38-67) from the floor and 36 percent (9-25) from three point range, and held a 51-47 advantage on the boards, as Patus led all players with 13. Papans finished with 11, five on the offensive glass.

Belmont Abbey is back in action Monday night at 7:30/>when it goes on the road to face Erskine.