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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Olutola Olushola and Percy Lemle combined for 42 points with both scoring career highs, as the sixth-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team defeated the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, 96-86, in the final game of the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Bellevue improved to 7-2 with the victory while USAO dropped to 1-6 overall.
Coming off the bench, Olushola finished with 22 points, four rebounds and two assists. Lemle recorded 20 points, eights assists, four rebounds, and two steals in the victory. Dimitri Chonis was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 14 points, all in the first half, to go along with four assists.
Ed' Lexus Collier paced the Drovers with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds.
Chonis scored nine points in the first seven minutes of the contest as the Bruins built an 11-point lead at 21-10. Four-straight points by Charles Markens sparked a 7-0 Drover run as USAO cut the gap to four points (21-17) with 11 minutes remaining in the opening period. A 9-2 run capped by a pair of jumpers from Anthony Rounds helped BU rebuild an 11-point margin and the two teams traded baskets for the remainder of half as the Bruins took a 50-38 lead into the break.
Chonis scored 14 points in the opening period, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Both teams shot 51 percent if the first half, but the Bruins hit five more 3-pointers.
The Bruins used a 16-4 run over a six-minute span to pull ahead by 21 points at 72-51 midway through the second half.
The Drovers responded with a 21-10 spurt, climbing to within 11 points (82-71) with just over five minutes left in the contest.
A layup by Lexus brought USAO to within 10 points at 85-75 at the three-minute mark. A 3-pointer by Cameron King cut the lead to single digits at 86-78 at 2:41.
After USAO got to within seven points, a 3-pointer by Thomas Hammock and four free throws by Olushola in the final minute sealed the 96-86 victory.
Bellevue hit 11-of-20 3-pointers in the game, compared to the Drovers' 5-of-15 performance from 3-point range.
The Bruins will travel to Madison, S.D. next Saturday, Dec. 6 for a 7 p.m. contest at Dakota State University.