BELMONT, N.C. – The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 home slate on a good note with a 97-79 victory over Johnson C. Smith Tuesday at the Wheeler Center.

L.J. McCoy finished with a career-high 25 points and finished 10 for 11 from the field, including 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point line. Sean Halloran tallied 18 points on the night, reaching 1,000 career points with his final 3-pointer with 54.7 seconds.

The victory moved the Crusaders to 2-1 on the season while the Golden Bulls are now 1-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mario Lacy, Jr. posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh career double-double. He made all seven of his field goal attempts and finished with a game-high three blocks. Chandler Baker was the fourth Crusader in double figures with 11 points, while dishing out four assists.
• Belmont Abbey got off to a hot start by making its first six shots of the game and eight of the first nine overall.
• It shot 64.5 percent from the floor in the first half, the best through three games this season.
• Belmont Abbey finished 13 of 21 from behind the 3-point line in the victory and outrebounded the Golden Bulls 36-23.
• The Abbey scored over 90 points for the second straight game.
• The 63.8 percent (effort) was a season-high for Belmont Abbey.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey opens Conference Carolinas play against North Greenville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Wheeler Center.