BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Senior BJ Shelton poured in a career-high 32 points and the Bruins outscored Presentation College, 57-27, in the second half, as the Bellevue University men's basketball team registered a 93-72 victory over the Saints in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The win, which avenged a 79-73 loss to the Saints on Dec. 9 in Aberdeen, improved the Bruins to 15-10 on the season and 7-5 in the NSAA. Presentation fell to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in league play.
Shelton, whose previous high was 30 points, was 13-of-19 from the field while adding eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Richard Reed added a career-high 19 points and added three rebounds. Nick Hilton finished with 12 points, three assists, and two boards. Jaffery Stillman narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Julius Jackson paced the Saints with 27 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Mychal Deas added 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Bruins shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half and finished 51.6 percent for the game.
Jackson scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the contest as PC built a six-point advantage at 23-17 at the midway point of the period.
A pair of free throws by Marcus Gatlin capped a 17-3 Saint run as PC took a 45-30 lead with 1:44 remaining before intermission. Shelton scored six-straight points to end the half, slicing the PC advantage to 45-36 at the break.
Jackson finished the first half with 17 points and five rebounds as PC nailed 50 percent of its 3-point attempts, finishing the half at 9-of-18 from behind the arc. Deas registered 12 points and four boards in the opening 20 minutes.
Shelton paced the Bruins in the first period with 15 points and five rebounds.
Reed and Shelton combined for BU's first 10 points of the second half as the Bruins cut the lead to four points at 49-45 at the 17:32 mark.
Two-straight buckets by Stillman and a 3-pointer by Austin Moore sparked a 7-0 BU run, giving the Bruins their first lead of the second half at 54-53 with 13:57 left in the game.
Nick Hilton scored five-straight points to give BU a 63-57 advantage, igniting the Bruin crowd at the 10:49 mark. The Bruins extended the lead to double digits on a layup by Jalen Hall, giving BU a 72-62 edge with 8:17 remaining in the contest.
A short jumper by Hall capped a 13-0 BU run giving the Bruins an 18-point cushion at the 6:32 mark.
The Saints never got closer than 16 points the remainder of the game as BU cruised to the 93-72 victory.
The Bruins return to the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on Saturday (Feb. 3) for a 5 p.m. NSAA contest with Waldorf University.
