Weekly Release
2010-11 Season Statistics
MCAC Standings

Oklahoma Wesleyan Live Video
Southwestern Christian Live Video

This Week
The sixth-ranked Bellevue University men’s basketball team will travel to Oklahoma this week for a pair of conference games. The Bruins will play against No. 8 Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. before playing at Southwestern Christian University on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5:00 p.m.

Following the Action
A video broadcast will be available for both road games this week. The video broadcast for Friday’s game against OWU can be view here while Saturday’s game at SCU can be viewed here.

Scouting Bellevue
Bellevue, winners of six of its last seven games is ranked No. 6 in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches’ Poll released on Monday, Jan. 31, and have a 19-4 overall record and are in first place with a 6-1 mark in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Bruins are coming off of a 104-69 conference home win against Southwestern Christian University on Jan. 29.

Eugene Bain leads BU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with eight double-doubles and is third in the MCAC with a 55.9 field goal percentage. Also averaging in double figures is All-American Avery Tyler (11.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 3.5 apg). Jelani Johnson averages 9.5 ppg and is first in the conference with 89 assists. Johnson also has a team-high 33 steals. Ousseynou Diop adds 8.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg and is first in NAIA Division II with 88 blocked shots. Jeremy Cruise leads the squad with 49 made 3-pointers.  

BU scores 81.3 points per game and is first in the MCAC with a 48.5 shooting percentage. They also shoot 38.1 percent from three-point range. The Bruins hold opponents to a conference-low 66.0 points per game on 39.3 percent shooting.

The Bruins return three letterwinners and two starters from last year’s 28-8 squad that captured the MCAC regular season and tournament titles, while advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA II National Tournament.

Scouting Oklahoma Wesleyan
Oklahoma Wesleysan is ranked No. 8 in NAIA Division II and have a 20-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark in league play. The Eagles are coming off of a 78-62 conference road win at Peru State College on Jan. 29.

OWU is led offensively by Sadiel Rojas who ranks second in NAIA Division II in scoring (26.1 ppg) and rebounding (11.7 rpg). He shoots 57 percent from the field, which ranks second in the MCAC. Rojas has also recorded 16 double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 22 of 23 games played this year. The Bruins held Rojas to a season-low seven points en route to a 69-56 win on Jan. 28 in Bellevue.

 Two other players average in double figure scoring for OWU, Dominique Rambo (15.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Murray Shaw (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Rambo also leads the conference with 69 steals and is second in assists (80).

The Eagles are second in the conference in scoring, averaging 85.0 ppg while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 33.4 from three-point range. OWU gives up 70.9 ppg and allow opponents to shoot 41.2 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from behind the arc.
 
Scouting Southwestern Christian
Southwestern Christian is currently 5-16 overall and 1-6 in the MCAC. The Bruins handed the Eagles a 104-69 loss in their last game on Jan. 29 in Bellevue.

Josh Gamblin leads SCU in scoring, averaging 16.5 points while pulling down 3.1 rebounds per game. Gamblin has reached double figure scoring totals in nine of his last 10 games, including 18 points in the first meeting  against Bellevue. The only other player scoring in double figures for the Eagles is Riemond Prince, who scores 15.3 points and leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Prince also paces the team with 60 assists and has recorded all four of SCU’s double-doubles this season.

SCU averages 70.0 ppg on 41.9 percent shooting and 35.5 percent from three-point range. The Eagles give up 79.8 ppg and allow opponents to shoot 48.8 percent shooting from the field and 34.3 percent from behind the arc.

Meet the Coaches
In his first two seasons at the helm of the Bellevue University men’s basketball program, Shane Paben has guided the Bruins to two consecutive trips to the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, including a semifinal finish in 2010 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2009. He has a career mark of 71-21 (.772) at BU. He is assisted by Bob Ludwig, Jason Isaacson and Micah Stancil. 

Oklahoma Wesleyan is led by two-time NAIA Division II Coach of the Year Donnie Bostwick. Now in his fourth year, he has a career record of 108-18 (.857). Bostwick is assisted by Mark Molder, Jamie Peterson and Garrett Jones.

Mark Arthur is in his 20th season as the head men’s basketball coach at Southwestern Christian. He has compiled an overall record of 390-282 (.580). Arthur’s assisted by Jim Poteet, Videll Wauqua and Kevin Thornton.

Parrott Named MCAC Player of the Week
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Sophomore guard James Parrott has been named the MCAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 14.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last week as the Bruins picked up three conference wins.

Parrott was 16-of-22 from the field (72.7 percent) and 7-for-10 from three-point range. Parrott also scored a career-high 20 points in the Bruins’ 104-69 win against Southwestern Christian University on Jan. 29.

National Rankings
Bellevue moved up four spots this week and is currently ranked No. 6 in the latest NAIA Men’s Basketball Division II Coaches’ Poll, released on Monday, Jan. 31.
Two other MCAC teams are also ranked in the poll, Oklahoma Wesleyan University is eighth while College of the Ozarks is No. 18.

Block Party
Ousseynou Diop has blocked 88 shots this season which ranks first in NAIA Division II. He has totaled two or more blocks in 12 of the Bruins’ last 13 games. Diop tied a career-high with eight blocks last week versus Oklahoma Wesleyan on Jan. 28. He also had eight blocks this season against Harris-Stowe (Nov. 12). In his first two seasons, he has led the conference in blocked shots. For his career, Diop has swatted 190 shots.

Doubling Up
The frontcourt duo of Eugene Bain and Ousseynou Diop have accounted for all 10 of the Bruins’ double-doubles this season. Bain has registered eight, including a 22-point and 14-rebound performance at Central Christian College on Jan. 22.

Diop has notched two double-doubles, in back-to-back games, at Midland University (Nov. 11) and versus Harris-Stowe (Nov. 12).

BU’s game at Peru State postponed
The Bellevue University men’s basketball game at Peru State College, originally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1, has been postponed until Tuesday, Feb. 8, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The game has been postponed due to a snowstorm in the area.

Last Game Recap
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Sophomore James Parrott led four Bruins in double figures with a career-high 20 points and the Bruins used an 18-point second-half run to grab a 104-69 MCAC victory over Southwestern Christian University Saturday afternoon at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The win put the Bruins in sole possession of first place in the conference standings.

The Bruins, who reached the century mark for the third time this season, improved to 19-4 on the year and 6-1 in the MCAC. The Eagles slipped to 5-16 overall and 1-6 in league play.

Parrott was 7-of-9 from the field, while nailing 3-of-4 3-pointers as the Bruins shot a season-high 66.7 percent from the field. Bellevue also hit a season-high 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from behind the arc.

Avery Tyler finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Eugene Bain poured in 14 points and added six boards. Jelani Johnson was the fourth Bruin in double figures with 10 points, while adding a game-high seven assists.

Up Next
The Bruins will make-up their game with Peru State College on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30. The game was rescheduled due to a snowstorm in the area. BU will also play its last two home regular season games next week when they welcome York College and Central Christian College to the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The Bruins will play YC on Friday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. before hosting CCC on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5:00 p.m. The Bruins’ four seniors will also be honored before tip-off with CCC.