BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Jemeil King and Vinny Belcaster combined for 41 points to pace the Bellevue University men's basketball team to an 84-69 victory over Viterbo University in North Star Athletic Association action Saturday evening in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 9-9 on the season and 2-1 in the NSAA. Viterbo dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.
King led the Bruins with 21 points and five assists. Belcaster drained six 3-pointers, finishing with a career-high 20 points, along with two rebounds and a pair of assists. Eric Pierce recorded a season-high 14 points while adding seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Lewis Hayes was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points, along with two rebounds and two assists.
Jack Monis led the V-Hawks with 20 points and five rebounds. Lowden Rockweiler added 13 points and three assists. Brady Polk and Robert Cunitz both scored 11 points apiece.
The Bruins hit 8-of-9 shots to open the contest, including a pair of 3-pointers, racing out to an early 19-8 advantage. A 7-2 V-Hawk run highlighted by four-straight points from Monis sliced the deficit to five points at 26-21 with 9:07 remaining before the intermission.
BU responded with a 14-2 spurt sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Belcaster to expand the lead to 17 points (40-23) at the 5:52 mark.
The V-Hawks countered with 10-straight points capped by a four-point play from Rockweiler to make it a seven-point contest at 40-33 before the Bruins settled for a 46-38 lead at the break.
Belcaster led the Bruins in the first half with 15 points, going 5-for-5 from behind the arc. King added 12 points and four assists. Bellevue went 9-for-16 in 3-point field-goal attempts in the opening half and was 63 percent from the field overall.
Monis led the V-Hawks in the first half with 10 points and two rebounds. Rockweiler added nine points and three assists.
A nifty assist and four-straight points from Hayes gave BU a 54-40 cushion at the 16:23 mark.
A layup by Monis capped a 7-2 VU run, slicing the deficit to single digits (59-50) with 12:29 left in the game. The two teams traded baskets for the next eight minutes until four-straight V-Hawk points drew Viterbo to within five (67-62) at the 4:25 mark.
Five-consecutive points from Pierce and a 3-pointer by King pushed the Bruins back out to a 13-point advantage (75-62) with just under three minutes remaining in the contest.
Michael Wright nailed four free throws in the final minute to preserve the 15-point victory.
The Bruins will host Dickinson State University next Friday, Jan. 8, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.