Bruins hold on for 82-76 win at No. 15 College of the Ozarks

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POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- Junior Taylor Young led four Bruins in double figures with 20 points as the sixth-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team held on for an 82-76 Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over No. 15-ranked College of the Ozarks Friday night in Keeter Gymnasium.

The Bruins improved to 17-3 on the season and 3-1 in the MCAC. Ozarks fell to 13-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. 

Young paced BU with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists. Thomas Hammock and Alex Worthen-Harris both poured in 14 points with Worthen-Harris connecting on all seven of his shots. Pogos Trunyan scored 10 points after finishing 3-of-6 from 3-point range. 

Ethan Murray led the Bobcats with 22 points. Derek Daniels recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. 

Worthen-Harris hit at all six of his first-half shots, while scoring the Bruins' first eight points and propelling the BU offense with 12 points in the opening period. 

After the Bruins broke away from a 27-27 tie with an 11-3 run, the Bobcats countered with seven-straight points to pull to within one point at 38-37 with 27 second left in the first period. Hammock nailed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give BU a 41-37 edge at halftime. 

After a Murray free throw to open the second half, the Bruins scored eight-straight to open up a double-digit lead at 49-38 at the 16:52 mark. Another 3-pointer by Hammock expanded the margin to 16 points at 65-49 with 9:35 remaining. 

Bellevue maintained a 15-point (72-57) advantage with just over six minutes left, before Ozarks used a six-point run to slice the lead to single digits at 72-63 at the 3:42 mark. 

A 4-point play by Murray brought the Bobcats to within six (76-70) with just over a minute left in the contest. Two more triples by Murray cut the margin to four points (80-76) with 29 seconds remaining. Young connected on a pair of free throws and Ozarks missed three consecutive jumpers to give BU the 82-76 victory. 

The Bruins will travel to Conway, Ark. tomorrow (Jan. 24) for a 5 p.m. MCAC match at Central Baptist College.