BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The University of Jamestown overcame a 16-point first-half deficit en route to an 88-85 victory over Bellevue University in North Star Athletic Association men's basketball action Saturday evening at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 10-8 on the season and 3-3 in the NSAA. Jamestown improved to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Jalen Hall (24) and Blake Wilder (22) combined for 46 points to lead the Bruin offense. Wilder was 10-of-12 from the field and his 22 points made for a career-high. He also added seven rebounds and three assists in the loss.
Jaffery Stillman recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Kevin Oberweiser paced the Jimmies with 29 points, including seven 3-pointers. Sam Johnson (18), Jon Purintun (16), and Christian Kvilvang (15) also scored in double figures for UJ.
The Bruins used a seven-point run just past the midway point of the first half to pull away for a 13-point advantage at 34-21. A 15-foot jumper by Hall gave BU a 15-point lead at 43-28 with just under five minutes remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
After a short jumper by Wilder gave the Bruins a 16-point cushion, the Jimmies closed the half on consecutive 3-pointers by Johnson and Oberweiser to cut the deficit to 10 points at 49-39 at the intermission.
Hall was perfect in the first half, nailing all six of this field-goal attempts, including a 3-of-3 effort from behind the arc. He also sank both of his free throw attempts while scoring a team-high 17 points in the opening half. Wilder finished the first period with 10 points and a pair of rebounds.
Oberweiser led the Jimmies in the first half with 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
A 6-0 UJ run sliced the deficit to four points at 55-51 with 16:26 left in the contest. Wilder responded with six points in a 6-2 Bruin run to push the cushion to eight points at 61-53 at the 15-minute mark. The Jimmies countered with a 10-2 spurt over the next two minutes to draw to within two points at 63-61.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Oberweiser and Johnson gave the Jimmies their first lead at 69-67 at the 8:22 mark.
Oberweiser's seventh 3-pointer of the game gave the Jimmies a 79-74 edge with 4:45 left in the game.
After Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws to give UJ an 88-85 lead with nine seconds remaining, Nick Hilton's 3-pointer narrowly missed at the buzzer, giving the Jimmies the 3-point victory.
The loss marked the Bruins' first regular-season conference home loss since BU joined the NSAA in 2015-16.
Bellevue will host Nebraska Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.