MITCHELL, S.D. - Senior Alex Worthen-Harris (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored a team-high 17 points and the Bellevue University basketball team claimed their fourth straight win, 82-79, over the University of Jamestown on day two of the Dakota Wesleyan Classic.
Bellevue is now 4-0 on the season while the loss drops the Jimmies to 2-4 in the early going.
Senior Olutola Olushola (Missouri City, Texas) hit on each of his three three-point field goals in the first half, on his way to 10 points for the game, as the No. 6 Bruins raced out to a 16-point lead on a layup by senior Taylor Young (Hawthorne, Calif.) at the 7:54 mark.
Jamestown would trim the Bellevue lead a bit over the ensuing eight minutes, pulling to within eight at 42-34 by halftime. Jamestown couldn't stop the Bellevue offense as the Bruins shot a scorching 65.2% (15-23) in the opening 20 minutes, including hitting six of their 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Bruins came out hot in the second half looking to re-establish their sizable lead. After surrendering the first four points of the half, they responded by scoring 13 of the next 16 points to take a commanding 55-41 advantage with 14:37 to play as the Jimmies took a timeout.
Jamestown cut the deficit to just four on an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:49 to play at 74-70. On the ensuing possession senior Percy Lemle (Carson, Calif.) missed a pair of free throws but an offensive rebound by junior Ian Randolph (Mt. Vernon, Ill.) gave the Bruins the ball back and an opportunity to run more time off the clock.
A pair of free throws by Jake Hagler pulled Jamestown to within two at 74-72 with 1:57.
Bellevue responded with a jumper by junior Pogos Trunyan (Sacramento, Calif.) to stretch their lead back to four at 78-74.
Hagler hit a trifecta with just 16.8 seconds left for Jamestown but they could get no closer as the Bruins hung on for their 11th straight regular season victory dating back to last season
A turnover on the next BU inbounds saw the Jimmies have a golden opportunity to take the lead but a missed layup and Bellevue rebound led to a breakout opportunity for Lemle who scored on the layup with 7.5 seconds left for an 82-79 Bruin lead.
Hagler, one of four Jimmies to score in double figures with 11, missed a three at the buzzer to preserve the victory for Bellevue.
Lemle along with fellow seniors Thomas Hammock (Compton, Calif.) and Dimitri Chonis (Tucson, Ariz.) joined Olushola and Worthen-Harris in double figures with 11 points each.
Randolph led the way with seven rebounds for the Bruins who out-rebounded Jamestown by a margin of 26-22.
Brequan Tucker (21), Taylor Newton (10), and Cedric Smith (13) all scored in double figures for Jamestown on the game with Tucker also handing out a game-high seven assists.
Bellevue will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 15 with their first true road game of the season at William Woods University at 4:00 p.m.