BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Juniors Richard Shepherd and Blake Zamudio combined for 44 points to lead the seventh-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 93-62 victory over Central Christian College Friday night in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Bellevue has now won 11-straight games, improving to 18-4 on the season and 6-0 in the MCAC. The Tigers fell to 12-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.
Shepherd finished one off his career-high with 23 points, hitting 9-of-11 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers. Zamudio nabbed a career-high 21 points, draining five 3-pointers while adding four rebounds and two assists.
James Parrott recorded 13 points, five assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Austin Bowen was the fourth Bruin in double figures, collecting 11 points, along with four rebounds and three assists.
Central Christian was led by Chris Jones, who finished with a game-high 33 points and 20 rebounds.
Shepherd scored 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the game as the Bruins grabbed an early 23-12 advantage midway through the opening period. He finished the first half with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
A 3-pointer by Parrott gave BU a 45-23 lead at the intermission and its largest lead of the first period. Parrott finished the first half with 11 points as the Bruins shot 45.5 percent from the field, nailing six 3-pointers.
The Bruins opened up a 30-point lead at 57-27 following a 3-pointer by Zamudio at the 15:49 mark.
The Tigers got as close as 26 points (67-41) after a Jones' layup with 11:39 remaining in the contest.
Bellevue used three 3-pointers during an 11-0 run to extend the margin to 78-41 at the eight-minute mark.
CCC never got closer than 30 points the remainder of the contest as the Bruins cruised to the 93-62 victory.
Bellevue finished the game with 51.6 percent shooting, including 57.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
The Bruins will host Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday (Jan. 28) night beginning at 5 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
