BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Seniors BJ Shelton and Nick Hilton combined for 38 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 74-61 victory over Valley City State University Friday evening in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 10-7 on the season and 3-2 in the NSAA. VCSU fell to 7-11 overall and 1-5 in league play.
Shelton registered 21 points and seven rebounds. Hilton was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, finishing with 17 points to go along with four assists. Jaffery Stillman pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while scoring six points.
Justyn Galloway led three Vikings in double figures, recording 14 points along with five boards. Rashad Satahoo collected 13 points, two rebounds and a pair of steals. Austin Dunbar scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Vikings were held scoreless for the first five minutes of the game as BU grabbed an early 6-0 advantage. After VCSU pulled to within three points, Richard Reed scored five points during a 10-0 BU run as the Bruins took a 21-8 lead with nine minutes remaining before halftime. The Vikings got as close as seven points before BU settled for a 33-24 halftime advantage.
Hilton led BU in the first half with eight points on perfect shooting as he was 2-for-2 from behind the arc and he sank both of his free-throw attempts. Dunbar paced the Vikings with 10 first-half points.
A 3-pointer by Ferguson capped an 11-5 VCSU run as the Vikings pulled to within three points at 38-35 with 16 minutes left in the contest. The Bruins responded with a six-point run and held a nine-point cushion following a 3-pointer by Hilton at the 12-minute mark.
The Vikings got as close as six points on several occasions before an 8-0 BU run, highlighted by four points from Blake Wilder, extended the Bruin lead to 65-51 with 3:22 remaining in the game. The Vikings responded with a five-point run to close the gap to single digits at 65-56 at the 2:15 mark.
That was as close as the Vikings would get as BU cruised to the 74-61 victory.
The Bruins will host University of Jamestown at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 6) in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
