BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Six Bruins scored at least eight points as the Bellevue University men's basketball team upset 22nd-ranked Mayville State University, 84-67, Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 12-9 on the season with the win and 4-4 in the NSAA. MSU fell to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in league play.
BJ Shelton led the Bruins with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Austin Moore added 14 points and three boards and Richard Reed poured in 14 points while adding an assist and a steal.
Gorg Alhag paced the Comets with 14 points, but only two in the second half. Daniel Lindgren added 10 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists.
Neither team could establish control in the first half which featured eight ties and four lead changes before the Bruins settled for a 41-38 halftime advantage. The Comets outshot BU 58.6 to 48.4 percent in the opening period, but the Bruins held a 9-4 edge in second-chance points with a 7-2 margin in offensive rebounds.
Shelton led BU in the opening half with 12 points and four rebounds. Alhag paced MSU with 12 points and an assist.
Two-straight layups by Blake Wilder put the Bruins up by six points and a 5-0 BU run gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead of the game at 59-49 with 13:28 left in the contest. The Comets answered with nine-straight points, holding BU scoreless for over four minutes, to pull to within one at 59-58 at the 9:18 mark.
Nine-consecutive points, including five-straight from Jalen Hall, pushed the Bruin margin to 11 points at 71-60 with 5:44 left in the game.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Moore and Reed gave BU a 77-61 lead at the 4:34 mark. The Comets never got closer than 14 points the remainder of the game as the Bruins cruised to the 84-67 victory.
The Bruins shot 53.6 percent from the field while holding MSU to 49.2 percent shooting. Bellevue held a 34 to 28 advantage in rebounds.
BU will travel to La Crosse, Wis. next Friday, Jan. 19, for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Viterbo University.
