BELLEVUE, Neb. - The Bellevue University basketball team hosts Central Christian College in a Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The No. 6 Bruins take a 14-3 (0-1 MCAC) record into the game while Central Christian College enters with an overall mark of 10-4.
The game marks the second of three straight conference home contests for the Bruins who are a 6-1 at home on the season. Bellevue dropped a 76-74 heart-breaker to Waldorf last Saturday in the MCAC-opener for both teams.
Bellevue holds a 23-2 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 2001.
LAST MEETING:
The 10th-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team claimed its 13th conference regular season title in school history after defeating Central Christian College, 101-70, Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
With the win, Bellevue concluded the regular season with a 25-5 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the MCAC while Central Christian fell to 17-13 and 3-11 in the conference.
Thomas Hammock led BU with 15 points on five 3-pointers while Lee Ames, Michael Dotson and Taylor Young each poured in 12 points apiece.
Isaiah Strong chipped in 11 points and three assists and Given Kalipinde finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
BU scored the first six points and never trailed in the first half as they took a 44-26 at halftime. The Bruins shot 66.7 percent from the field and were led by Young's 10 points.
The Bruins led by as many as 34 in the second stanza en route to the 31-point conference win, 101-70.
Aaron Miller led CCC with a game-high 28 points.
LAST GAME:
Bellevue: The No. 4 Bellevue University basketball team trailed by as many as 13 in the second half but a furious late rally wasn't enough as the Bruins dropped a 76-74 decision to Waldorf College in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference-opener for both teams.
Bellevue (14-3/0-1 MCAC) saw its season-best nine-game win streak come to a halt while Waldorf improved to 5-10 (1-0 MCAC) with the victory.
Jordan Nelson posted a double-double, finishing with 22 points and 14 rebounds while Trey Scott and Erik Brewer combined for 37 points for the Warriors who defeated Bellevue at the Lozier Athletic Center for the first time ever.
Taylor Young led the Bruins with 18 points while Alex Worthen-Harris and Percy Lemle chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Olutola Olushola, making his first career start, scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds. Thomas Hammock hit a pair of three-pointers on his way to eight points. It was the 14th time this season that Hammock knocked down at least two shots from beyond the arc.
A lay-up by Scott saw the Warriors stretch their lead to 12 at 65-53 with 6:30 to play. On the ensuing possession, Hammock hit canned a trifecta to pull the Bruins within single digits for the first time since the 9:22 mark. Following a missed shot, Young drew a foul and proceeded to hit both free throws to cut the deficit to seven.
With the defense ratcheted up, Worthen-Harris came away with a steal and delivered a thunderous one-handed breakaway dunk to the delight of the home crowd.
Bellevue would cut it as close as a single point at 70-69 with 2:20 to play but Waldorf made just enough free throws (4-8) down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Waldorf owned a 39-36 advantage on the class including a 16-14 edge in offensive rebounds, out-scoring the Bruins 24-15 in second chance points.
Central Christian: The CCC men's basketball team, who had been mired in a three game losing streak, busted out of their slump in a big way with a 94-49 win at home over the Hillsdale Baptist Saints on Saturday night.
Everything that the Tigers threw at the rim seemed to go in, especially from behind the three point arc. For the game, the Tigers shot 41% from the field, but from three point land, they were a blistering 64% making 18 of their 28 trey attempts. The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead in the opening half. At the midway point, the Tigers were leading by 16, 22-6. The biggest lead of the half was 30 points, but some sloppy play at the tail end of the half allowed the Saints to creep within 24 at the break 25-49.
In the second half, the shots continued to fall for the Tigers and they pushed their lead back over 30 points. They had a few mental lapses in the second frame, but for the most part played solid defense, and kept the Saints off of the offensive glass. The Tigers out-rebounded the Saints 52-38, and forced 20 turnovers. They made the most of the Saints' miscues, turning them into 33 points. Probably the one thing that was a cause for concern for the Tiger coaching staff, were the 17 times they coughed up the ball, mostly because of poor focus. All in all it was a solid performance, one that should give the Tigers confidence, something they have been missing the last few games, going into the start of conference play next week.
Eleven of the twelve Tigers who saw action in tonight's game found their way into the scoring column. Three Tigers scored in double figures led by Michael Gholston, who was 6 of 7 from behind the three point arc, for 26 points. Dustin Rojas continued his hot shooting, knocking down 7 of 10 three pointers for 25 points. He has now made 12 of his last 15 three pointers. Joining Gholston and Rojas in double figures scoring was Tere' Adams with 12 points off of the bench. With Alonzo Stafford out, several other Tigers had to pick up the rebounding load. Chris Quincy, who scored 8 points, was huge on the glass for the Tigers with 14 boards.
After two poor offensive performances against Friends and Grace, Coach Romero was happy to see the ball going through the hoop like it did against the Saints. "I am glad our guys gained some confidence tonight", said Romero. "Everything becomes a little easier when the ball goes in the basket. I was most pleased with the passion and effort the guys showed, we had some key guys out tonight and others stepped up and played well. Defensively we hit all our four key categories tonight, which we haven't done in a while." Romero lauded the play of Michael Gholston, Dustin Rojas, and Chris Quincy saying, "Dustin and Mike had huge games offensively, but I thought Chris Quincy played one of his better all-around games of the year. It was definitely a good win as we head into conference play next week."
TEAM LEADERS:
Scoring - BU-Taylor Young (17.5), CCC-Michael Gholston (15.5)
Rebounding - BU-Alex Worthen-Harris (6.2), CCC-Alonzo Stafford (7.9)
Assists - BU-Percy Lemle (59), CCC- Daniel Nwosuh (58)
Blocks - BU-Percy Lemle/Alex Worthen-Harris (11), CCC-Alonzo Stafford (18)
Steals - BU-Alex Worthen-Harris (18), CCC-Daniel Nwosuh (20)
Three-Pointers Made - BU-Thomas Hammock (51), CCC-Michael Gholston (39)
Free Throw Percentage - BU-Taylor Young (83.8, 67-80), CCC-Alonzo Stafford (75.0, 24-32)
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Bellevue - 4-Hammock, 12-Young, 15-Chonis, 22-Worthen-Harris, 34-Aaron
Central Christian - 1-Nwosuh, 5-Gholston, 23-Stafford, 20-Rojas, 33-Quincy
GAME NOTES:
- Bellevue is 10-1 against fellow NAIA Division II Opponents
- Bellevue is 2-2 against NAIA Division I Opponents
- Bellevue is 2-0 against non-NAIA Opponents
- Bellevue is 6-1 at home on the season
- Bellevue is 2-1 in true road games on the season
- Bellevue is 6-1 in neutral site games on the season
- Bellevue is 14-1 when scoring 64 or more points
- Bellevue is 0-2 when scoring 52 or fewer points
- Bellevue is 8-2 when allowing 70 or more points
- Bellevue is 6-1 when allowing 67 or fewer points
- Bellevue is 1-0 in overtime games on the season (Nov. 1, def. Friends 76-70)
- Bellevue is 13-1 when shooting better than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 1-2 when shooting worse than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 13-1 when making 6 or more 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 1-2 when making 5 or fewer 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 9-1 when out-rebounding their opponent
- Bellevue is 4-2 when being out-rebounded by their opponent
- Bellevue is 1-0 when having the same number of rebounds as their opponent
- Bellevue went 5-2 in seven games without Taylor Young (17.4 PPG)
- Bellevue defeated Central Christian 67-49 on Jan. 19, 2014
- Bellevue defeated Central Christian 78-76 (ot) on Feb. 9, 2014
- Bellevue leads the all-time series, which dates back to 2001, 23-2
Bellevue ranks in Division II
- 20, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (.313)
- 33, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.381)
- 35, Scoring Margin (8.50)
- 40, Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.092)
- 42, Total Scoring Offense (1256)
- 45, Scoring Offense per Game (78.50)
- 48, Total Rebound Defense (33.13)
- 49, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (7.63)
- 49, Scoring Defense per Game (70.00)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 7th in Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (3.33)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 19th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (3.06)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 21st in Division II in Total 3-Point Field Goals Made (49)
Central Christian ranks in Division II
- 4, Field Goal Percentage Defense (.385)
- 6, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (9.71)
- 6, Rebounds per Game (43.50)
- 7, Offensive Rebounds per Game (14.57)
- 9, Defensive Rebounds per Game (28.93)
- 11, Scoring Margin (13.07)
- 14, Total Rebound Margin (13.07)
- 16, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.399)
- 20, Assists per Game (16.93)
- 26, Steals per Game (8.57)
- 27, Scoring Defense per Game (80.79)
- 28, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (67.71)
- 29, Scoring Offense per Game (80.79)
- 43, Blocks per Game (3.14)
- 45, 3-Point Field Goals Made (136)
- 45, Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.08)
- 47, Turnover Margin (1.21)
- Alonzo Stafford ranks 5th in Division II in Field Goal Percentage (.647)
- Alonzo Stafford ranks 30th in Division II in Blocks per Game (1.50)
- Alonzo Stafford ranks 32nd in Division II in Rebounds per Game (7.92)
- Alonzo Stafford ranks 43rd in Division II in Defensive Rebounds per Game (5.25)
- Alonzo Stafford ranks 46th in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.67)
- Michael Gholston ranks 33rd in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (2.79)
- Daniel Nwosuh ranks 44th in Division II in Assists per Game (4.14)
- Dustin Rojas ranks 45th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals made per Game (2.64)
UP NEXT:
Bellevue will host York College on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 5:00 p.m. in the last of three straight home games to open the conference slate.
Central Christian travels to Waldorf College on Saturday, Jan. 17 for a 5:00 match-up.
