NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Ja'Kobi Gillespie had 18 points in Belmont's 83-66 victory over Evansville on Sunday night.

Gillespie added five rebounds for the Bruins (19-12, 12-8 Missouri Valley Conference). Keishawn Davidson scored 17 points while shooting 5 for 8 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, and added six rebounds. Cade Tyson had 17 points and shot 6 for 10 (3 for 4 from 3-point range) and 2 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Kenny Strawbridge led the way for the Purple Aces (15-16, 6-14) with 14 points and eight rebounds. Joshua Hughes added 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Evansville. In addition, Antonio Thomas finished with 11 points. The Purple Aces prolonged their losing streak to seven straight.

Belmont took the lead with 6:11 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 38-26 at halftime, with Tyson racking up 11 points. Belmont pulled away with a 12-2 run in the second half to extend a 13-point lead to 23 points. They outscored Evansville by five points in the final half, as Jayce Willingham led the way with a team-high 11 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.