SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Six players scored in double figures, and the Bellevue University men's basketball team used a clutch 3-pointer by All-American Jemeil King and four free throws in the final eight seconds to secure an 82-79 season-opening win Saturday evening over Briar Cliff University at the Newman Flanagan Center.
Keshawn Bruner and Jonah Brown led the Bruins with 14 points each. Jaylen Wiltz added 13, Lewis Hayes chipped in with 12, Michael Wright had 11, and King rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points.
The Chargers drilled 14-of-30 3-point attempts in the loss. Nick Hoyt (18), Ethan Friedel (18), Quinten Vasa (15), and Jaden Kleinhesselink (15) accounted for 66 of the Chargers' 79 points on the evening.
After the Chargers raced out to an early 7-0 lead, BU went on a 13-1 run to grab a 13-8 advantage with 12:13 left in the opening half. BCU battled back, scoring seven of the next nine points to knot the contest at 15-all at the midway point of the first half. Neither team led by more than five points the remainder of the period until Hoyt nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Chargers a 39-33 advantage at the break.
Bruner led the Bruins in the opening half with eight points, while Wright and Brown poured in seven points apiece.
A 3-pointer by Friedel gave the Chargers an early nine-point lead to open the second half and it proved to be the largest lead of the contest for either squad at 42-33.
After trailing the first 10 minutes of the second period, a steal and a layup by Bruner gave BU its first lead at 58-56 with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. The two teams battled back and forth the remainder of the contest until a pair of free throws by Bruner gave BU a 75-70 advantage at the 3:17 mark.
After Friedel's 3-pointer cut the BU lead to two points at 75-73 just seconds later, neither team scored until Hoyt's fade-away 3-pointer gave the Chargers a 76-75 lead with 34 seconds remaining. King countered with a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and Jaden Kleinhesselink made one of two free throws as BU held a 78-77 lead with eight seconds left in regulation.
Wiltz drained a pair of free throws to give BU a 3-point advantage. After Kleinhesselink connected on a layup, Wright sealed the victory with two more free throws, giving BU the 82-79 victory.
The Bruins will be back in action on Monday night (Oct. 26) when they host the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.