YORK, Neb. -- James Parrott and Richard Shepherd combined for 47 points and the eighth-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team used a 30-8 run and made 11 3-pointers in the second half to post an 83-68 win at York College Tuesday night at the Freeman Center in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
Bellevue has now won 16 of its last 17 games and improved to 23-5 overall and 11-1 in the MCAC while York fell to 13-15 and 6-6 in league play.
Parrott scored a game-high 28 points along with nine rebounds and two blocks while Shepherd added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jelani Johnson recorded seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Johnson is now just six points away from becoming the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Ousseynou Diop chipped in nine points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
After shooting just 34.4 percent in the opening period, the Bruins went 17-for-32 (53.1 percent) and made 11 of their 15 three-point attempts (73.3 percent) in the second half. YC shot 35.7 percent from the field. BU also held a 50-37 edge in rebounds.
The Bruins scored 16 of the first 20 points in the game as they built an eight-point halftime lead, 36-28. BU held the Panthers to just 35.5 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers. The Bruins also recorded 12 offensive rebounds which led to 11 second chance points and went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line while the Panthers attempted just three. Parrott led BU with 14 points and six rebounds in the opening stanza.
The Panthers opened the second half on a 7-0 run to cut the Bruins' lead down to one, 36-35. BU responded with a decisive 30-8 spurt fueled by eight 3-pointers, including three by Parrott. YC used an 11-1 run to trim its deficit down to 68-54 with 7:39 remaining, but the Panthers never got any closer as the Bruins pulled away in the final five minutes for the 15-point conference road win.
Dylan Brewer (18 points) and Thadd Varmall (17 points, five rebounds) paced the Panthers.
The Bruins will continue their three-game road trip when they travel to Point Lookout, Mo. on Friday, Feb. 17 for a 7:30 p.m. conference game at College of the Ozarks.