Belmont Abbey sophomore forward Chad Patus established career-highs with 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Crusaders men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a dominating 91-56 win over Erskine this evening. The Abbey improves to 2-4 overall and remains perfect in Conference Carolinas play with a 2-0 ledger, while Erskine suffers its first defeat of the year as it falls to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in Conference Carolinas.

The Abbey shot 52.1 percent (25-48) from the floor as Patus led all scorers with 22 points on 5-11 shooting from the field, including a 1-2 effort from three-point range, and a near perfect 11-12 output from the free throw line. He pulled down 11 rebounds and recorded a blocked shot in 29 minutes. Junior guard Jonathan Jackson added 16 points on 3-8 shooting, all from three-point range, and was a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Richard Barbee contributed 13 points on 4-4 shooting from the field, while recording an assist in 14 minutes. Kashif Gumbs added 10 points as he was also perfect from the floor, as he sank all four of his field goal attempts, while pulling down three rebounds.

Belmont Abbey never trailed in the game and its lead was never threatened as it scored the first 11 points of the contest as the Flying Fleet did not get on the board until 4:04 into the game. The first half advantage grew to as high as 29 points on two separate occasions and went into the half leading by 26 points at 53-27.

The second half was all Crusaders as it built its lead to as high as 43 points at 83-40 with 6:01 left to play. Every Crusader who entered the game scored at least two points.

The Abbey is back in action Saturday night at 7:30 when it goes on the road to face Limestone.