Posted: Feb 19, 2011
MCAC Standings
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- The No. 6-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team edged No. 19 College of the Ozarks, 52-48, Saturday night at Keeter Gymnasium to clinch a tie for the MCAC regular season title. The Bruins (25-5, 12-2 MCAC) claimed their second-straight regular season title and will host the MCAC Tournament on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 25-26 at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Times and pairings for the MCAC Tournament will be announced on Monday (Feb. 21). Bellevue finished tied with No. 4-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan (27-3, 12-2). The Eagles will be the No 2 seed in the tournament. Ozarks will be the No. 3 seed after finishing 9-5 in league play and 20-10 overall. Central Christian (21-8, 8-6) will round out the tournament field as the No. 4 seed.
Trailing 50-48, the Bobcats' Darian Kelly missed a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in the game. Eugene Bain sealed the win with two free throws with one second left in regulation to give BU the 52-48 win.
Bain (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Ousseynou Diop (10 points, 12 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles in the win. Diop also added a game-high four blocks. Senior Avery Tyler finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Ozarks was led by Mike Wiebe who scored a game-high 14 points.
BU shot 33.3 percent from the field while holding Ozarks to just 28.8 percent shooting. The Bruins also held the edge on the glass, outrebounding the Bobcats, 45-36. Ozarks had just six turnovers while BU finished with 18.
The Bobcats, who rallied from a 30-18 halftime deficit, had a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds left in regulation. Trailing 49-48, Mike Wiebe missed the back end of a one-and-one and after Ozarks grabbed the rebound, the Bobcats called a timeout with a chance to take the lead with 25 seconds remaining. Wiebe missed a short jumper and Tyler snared the rebound and was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. He made one of two free throws to give BU a 50-48 advantage.
Kelly nearly had a chance at a traditional 3-point play as his short jumper rimmed in and out as he was fouled by the Bruins' Jeremy Arrington. After missing the first free throw, Kelly intentionally missed the second, but Bain grabbed the rebound and nailed the two free shots to seal the 52-48 win.
