BELLEVUE, Neb. - The Bellevue University basketball team travels to College of the Ozarks for their first Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference road contest of the year on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The No. 6 Bruins take a 16-3 (2-1 MCAC) record into the game while No. 15 College of the Ozarks enters play with an overall mark of 13-4 (2-1 MCAC).
The game is the first of four straight conference road games for the Bruins who are 8-2 away from the friendly confines of the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center, including 2-1 in true road games. Bellevue has won two in a row after dropping a heart-breaker to Waldorf and currently sit in an early-season six-way tie for first place in the conference.
Bellevue has won two straight and 11 of 12 against the Bobcats while holding a 32-17 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994.
LAST MEETING:
The 10th-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team outscored College of the Ozarks by seven in the second half en route to an 86-80 victory Saturday night in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action at Keeter Gymnasium.
The Bruins, who defeated College of the Ozarks 92-82 in Bellevue on Jan. 25, improved to 23-5 overall and 10-2 in conference action. The Bobcats fell to 19-8 and 7-5 in the MCAC.
Lee Ames made seven of his 12 field goal attempts and led BU with a game-high 23 points and added four assists and three rebounds. Alex Worthen-Harris recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Hammock scored 14 points and Taylor Young chipped in 10.
After the opening 2:26 remained scoreless, the Bruins would score 12 of the first 16 points capped off by a four-point play by Isaiah Strong. Trailing 25-11, the Bobcats closed the final 9:55 on a 27-12 run to take a one-point lead at halftime, 38-37.
BU scored the first seven points in the second half and took a 52-44 advantage five minutes into the period before COFO went on a 19-4 run to regain the lead, 63-56, with 6:29 remaining in the game.
The Bruins answered back and finished the game on a 30-17 run to pull out the six-point MCAC road win, 86-80. BU made seven of its 10 free throws in the final minute to help secure the win.
Nathan Reid and Nathane Simniok paced COFO with 17 points apiece.
LAST GAME:
Bellevue: Led by Percy Lemle's career-high 34 points, the sixth-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team fought back for a 90-86 win over York College in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action Saturday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Lemle, who scored 25 points in the second half, added five rebounds, two assists and a steal in the win. He went 9-of-18 from the field and hit 14-of-16 free throws.
Taylor Young finished with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. Alex Worthen-Harris recorded 16 points and six rebounds.
Devaun Evans led four Panthers in double figures with 19 points, 17 coming after halftime.
York led by as many as 12 points in the first period after hitting a sizzling 59.4 percent from the field. The Panthers were paced by Thomas Luther's 12 points as York nailed 5-of-12 3-pointers to take a 51-43 advantage at the break.
Worthen-Harris led the Bruins in the first period with 14 points and five rebounds as BU hit 45.5 percent from the field and nailed all 10 of its free throws.
The Bruins opened the second half on a 10-4 run to pull to within two points (55-53) with 14:40 remaining in the game.
After BU pulled to within one point (67-66) on a Lemle layup at 8:36, York went on a 5-0 run to extend the margin back to six points with just over seven minutes remaining. Seven-straight points from Lemle gave BU its first lead of the second half at 79-78 at the 3:25 mark.
The Bruins built a five-point advantage at 86-81 with 27 seconds remaining as York went cold from the field and Young and Lemle combined for seven-straight points.
Following a Tre' Howe layup at 24 seconds, Lemle nailed a pair of free throws to push the lead back to five (88-83) with 14 seconds left in the contest. Damian Marshall drained a triple with seven seconds left to pull the Panthers to within two at 88-86. York immediately fouled Pogos Trunyan who drilled both free throws to seal the 90-86 victory.
York cooled off to 37.5 percent in the second half, finishing at 50 percent for the game. The Bruins matched the Panthers at 50 percent after heating it up to 56 percent (14-of-25) after the intermission.
College of the Ozarks: The #15 ranked College of the Ozarks Bobcats came up big at home in the second half to post a victory (96-80) over Central Baptist College on Tuesday evening.
The Bobcats trailed the Mustangs by as many as nine points in the first half on a meager 39.1 field goal percentage, but managed to pull within 4 at halftime. Upon returning to the court in the second half, the Bobcats improved their shooting. Hitting 6 of 11 from the 3 point line (55%), 17-29 (59%) from the field, they took the lead at 63-60 and never looked back.
Derek Daniels, who had only 9 points in the first half, led the team with 30 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. Not far behind was Alex Santiago with 26 points, followed by Ethan Murray with 10. The Mustang leaders featured Jayln McBride with 25 points and LaShawn Hamilton with 17 points and a game high 7 rebounds.
TEAM LEADERS:
Scoring - BU-Taylor Young (17.8), COFO-Ethan Murray (17.4)
Rebounding - BU-Alex Worthen-Harris (6.1), COFO-Derek Daniels (6.9)
Assists - BU-Percy Lemle (65), COFO- Alex Santiago (93)
Blocks - BU- Alex Worthen-Harris (13), COFO-Nathan Reid (8)
Steals - BU-Alex Worthen-Harris (19), COFO-Alex Santiago (33)
Three-Pointers Made - BU-Thomas Hammock (56), COFO-Ethan Murray (56)
Free Throw Percentage - BU-Taylor Young (84.4, 81-96), COFO-Ethan Murray (82.7, 43-52)
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Bellevue - 3-Lemle, 4-Hammock, 5-Olushola, 12-Young, 22-Worthen-Harris
College of the Ozarks - 2-Paschke, 15-Daniels, 20-Santiago, 33-Murray, 44-Leonard
GAME NOTES:
- Bellevue is 12-1 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 8-1 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 16-1 when scoring 64 or more points
- Bellevue is 0-2 when scoring 52 or fewer points
- Bellevue is 10-2 when allowing 70 or more points
- Bellevue is 6-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points
- Bellevue is 1-0 in overtime games on the season (Nov. 1, def. Friends 76-70)
- Bellevue is 15-1 when shooting better than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 1-2 when shooting worse than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 14-1 when making 6 or more 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 2-2 when making 5 or fewer 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 10-1 when out-rebounding their opponent
- Bellevue is 4-2 when being out-rebounded by their opponent
- Bellevue is 2-0 when having the same number of rebounds as their opponent
- Bellevue is 13-2 following a victory
- Bellevue is 2-1 following a loss
- Percy Lemle is averaging 22.8 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last four games (3-1)
- Percy Lemle has thrice been named MCAC Player of the Week (Dec. 8, Dec. 15, Jan. 19)
- Bellevue is guaranteed a better than .500 record for the 15th consecutive regular season
- Bellevue went 5-2 in seven games without Taylor Young (17.4 PPG)
- Bellevue defeated College of the Ozarks 92-82 on Jan. 25, 2014
- Bellevue defeated College of the Ozarks 86-80 on Feb. 15, 2014
- Bellevue leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, 32-17
Bellevue ranks in Division II
- 23, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.387)
- 33, Scoring Offense per Game (79.90)
- 36, Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.14)
- 37, Free Throw Percentage (.713)
- 38, Scoring margin (7.63)
- 38, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (.333)
- 44, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (7.74)
- 49, Field Goal Percentage (.462)
- 49, Total Scoring Offense (1,518)
- 50, Total Rebound Defense (33.58)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 10th in Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (3.50)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 26th in Division II in Total 3-Point Field Goals Made (56)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 27th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (2.95)
College of the Ozarks ranks in Division II
- 2, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.437)
- 6, Scoring Offense per Game (89.13)
- 8, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (9.56)
- 8, Defensive Rebounds per Game (28.88)
- 9, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (.315)
- 10, Assists per Game (17.75)
- 12, Total Rebound Margin (7.69)
- 18, Total Rebounds per Game (40.13)
- 21, Scoring margin (10.19)
- 24, Field Goal Percentage (.478)
- 28, Total 3-Point Field Goals Made (153)
- 29, Assists (284)
- 31, Rebound Defense (32.44)
- 38, Steals per Game (8.06)
- 46, Total Scoring Offense (1522)
- Ethan Murray ranks 2nd in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (3.73)
- Ethan Murray ranks 12th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.483)
- Ethan Murray ranks 26th in Division II in 3-point Field Goals Made (56)
- Ethan Murray ranks 33rd in Division II in Free Throw Percentage (.827)
- Ethan Murray ranks 49th in Division II in Points per Game (17.04)
- Cameron Paschke ranks 41st in Division II in Free Throw Percentage (.817)
- Cameron Paschke ranks 50th in Division II in Assists per Game (4.00)
- Alex Santiago ranks 14th in Division II in Assists per Game (5.47)
- Alex Santiago ranks 23rd in Division II in Total Assists (93)
- Alex Santiago ranks 33rd in Division II in Steals per Game (1.94)
- Alex Santiago ranks 49th in Division II in Steals (33)
- Derek Daniels ranks 19th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.464)
- Derek Daniels ranks 20th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (3.06)
- Derek Daniels ranks 37th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals (52)
- Derek Daniels ranks 45th in Division II in Defensive Rebounds per Game (5.18)
UP NEXT:
Bellevue continues their five-game road trip with a 5:00 p.m. tip-off at Central Baptist College on Saturday.
College of the Ozarks hosts Waldorf at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
