YORK, Neb. - Junior Taylor Young (Hawthorne, Calif.) scored eight of his game-high 27 points in overtime as the Bellevue University basketball team rallied from a 16-point half-time deficit to defeat Friends University 76-70 in overtime on Saturday at the York Classic.
The No. 6 Bruins (2-0) won for the second time in as many nights while Friends (1-1) has split each of their first two games.
Trailing 70-67, Bellevue scored the final nine points of the extra session as Young hit on a pair of jumpers and connected on all four of his free throw attempts and senior Dimitri Chonis (Tucson, Ariz.) hit on a free throw of his own.
Friends struck for the first eight points of the game and seemed to be on their way to getting their second win of the season when they stretched their lead to 17 with 2:02 to play before the break. The Friends lead grew to 18 with just 14:30 to play but a 19-4 BU run over the next 7:15 saw Bellevue cut the deficit to 56-53.
Young tied the game for the first time since the opening tip with a pair of free throws at the 4:25 mark.
After Friends built their lead back up to four at 64-60 with 2:19 to go but that was short-lived as senior Thomas Hammock (Compton, Calif.) nailed one of his game-high six three-pointers on the ensuing possession. Hammock hit his second straight three at the 1:21 mark to give the Bruins their first lead of the game with 1:21 remaining but Toby Baxter canned a jumper with 1:01 to play to tie things up and force overtime after no one scored to close out the half.
Hammock and Percy Lemle (Carson, Calif.) joined Young in double figures with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Junior Marquis Aaron (Pittsburg, Calif.) totaled a game-best 12 rebounds in 26 minutes of action off the bench. Junior Alex Worthen-Harris (Phoenix, Ariz.) chipped in with three points and seven rebounds for the Bruins while Young supplemented his 27-point night with four rebounds and four assists.
Baxter led Friends with 24 points while Brandon Johnson and Brett Williams joined him in double figures with 13 and 10 points each. James Williams topped the team with 10 rebounds for the game.
The Bruins return to the hardwood on Friday, Nov. 7 with a 4:00 p.m. match-up with Mayville State University at the Dakota Wesleyan Classic.