In a contest that saw 12 ties and seven lead changes, the Belmont Abbey men's basketball team outscored Limestone 15-8 in the final 4:47 after the two schools were tied at 66 to give the Crusaders an 80-76 win this evening at the Wheeler Center. Belmont Abbey improves to 9-5 overall and 6-2 in Conference Carolinas, while the Saints fall to 4-11 overall and 3-6 in Conference Carolinas.

The Abbey shot 48.4 percent (30-62) as senior guard Jonathan Jackson led all scorers with 25 points on nine of 19 shooting from the floor, including five three-pointers in ten attempts, and handed out three assists. Sophomore guard Richard Barbee posted 21 points on seven of 13 shooting from the field. He also sank three of his five three-point attempts, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a pair of steals. Chad Patus notched his second-straight double double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. He sank six of his 11 field goal attempts and dished out one assist. Junior center Alex Pledger led all players with four blocked shots as the Abbey finished wth seven on the night.

Limestone was led by Anthony Middleton's 24 points, with 20 of those coming in the second half. He finished the evening 10-19 shooting from the field and sank all four of his free throw attempts. He also led the Saints with eight rebounds, four offensive, while collecting two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Stewart Clark added 20 points on eight of 19 shooting from the field, and Michael Barrett added 15 points and seven rebounds.Tyron Evans chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds. Limestone shot 42.3 percent (30-71) from the floor.

The Abbey is back in action Saturday night at 7:30 when it travels to Charlotte to face Queens. That contest will be played at the Grady Cole Center.