Crump leads UT over Belmont

Buzz ball gets team over .500 Brandon Crump scored 22 points and Andre Patterson had 16 to lead Tennessee to a 77-68 victory over Belmont on Monday night. Tennessee (5-4) led by two with 2:43 left in the game, and Belmont (2-6) trailed by just four points, 70-66, with 41 seconds left. The Vols made 7 of 8 free throws in the last 41 seconds to secure the win. Crump was 8 of 10 from the floor and 6 of 8 from the foul line. Chris Lofton added 13 points for the Vols, who were coming off a 77-58 loss at New Mexico on Saturday night. Justin Hare led Belmont with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He was 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Will Peeples and Jese Snyder scored 11 points each for Belmont, which lost its third straight. The Vols out rebounded the Bruins 39-22. Tennessee played without starting guard Scooter McFadgon, who served a one-game suspension for unspecified violation of team rules. McFadgon, a senior averaging 15.8 points, is the Vols’ leading scorer. Sophomore Dane Bradshaw started for McFadgon. The Vols reeled off 14 straight points midway through the first half to take a 20-5 lead. Belmont committed six turnovers during the run. Tennessee’s biggest lead of the half was 17 points. The Bruins used a 12-1 run late in the half, closed the deficit to six, and trailed 35-27 at halftime. Belmont scored the first five points of the second half and never trailed by more than 10 in the final 20 minutes.