BELLEVUE, Neb. - The Bellevue University basketball team travels to Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Haskell Indian Nations University for a pair of Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference road contests this weekend.
The No. 6 Bruins take an 18-3 (4-1 MCAC) record into the weekend while their Friday opponent, Oklahoma Wesleyan, is 6-14 (0-5 MCAC) on the year and their Saturday opponent Haskell Indian Nations is 5-16 (3-2 MCAC).
The games mark the end of four straight conference road games for the Bruins who are 10-2 away from the friendly confines of the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center, including 4-1 in true road games. Bellevue has won four in a row after dropping a heart-breaker to Waldorf and currently sits in first place in the conference.
Bellevue has won two straight against Oklahoma Wesleyan while holding a 34-17 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994. The Bruins are undefeated all-time against Haskell Indian Nations, holding a 27-0 series edge, dating back to 2002.
LAST GAME:
Bellevue: Senior Percy Lemle (Carson, Calif.) came within four points of his career-high to lead the Bellevue University basketball team to a 68-63 Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over home-standing Central Baptist College on Saturday evening.
Lemle paced the Bruins with 30 points while adding three rebounds and an assist. The combo guard hit on 10 of his 17 attempts from the field and sank 10 of his 14 tried from the free-throw line. As a team, BU hit on 66.7 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (24-36).
Trailing 28-26 at the 1:45 mark before halftime, Bellevue scored seven of the final nine points of the half to claim a 33-30 edge before intermission on a free throw by junior Ian Randolph (Mt. Vernon, Ill.) with just three seconds until the break.
Bellevue built their advantage to eight at the 8:28 mark of the second half on a bucket by Lemle following a Mustang turnover.
Central Baptist pulled within one at the 2:57 mark on a lay-up by Kevin Daniels Jr. The Bruins out-scored the Mustangs 13-9 from that point to hold off any thoughts of a late rally by Central Baptist.
Daniels Jr. led Central Baptist with 13 points while LaShawn Hamilton (12 points) and Bryan Tardy (11 points) both reached double figures for the Mustangs.
Junior Taylor Young (Hawthorne, Calif.) aided the offensive effort with 12 points and a team-high four assists while junior Pogos Trunyan (Sacramento, Calif.) scored 11 points and handed out one helper.
Senior Dimitri Chonis (Tucson, Ariz.) added eight points and a team-best nine rebounds. Central Baptist held a 41-36 edge on the glass but couldn't convert any second chance points.
The Bruins shot just 37.7 percent from the field, marking the second time this season that BU has claimed a victory despite shooting under 40 percent from the field. They are now 2-2 on the year when shooting under 40 percent from the field.
Oklahoma Wesleyan: Oklahoma Wesleyan men's basketball team dropped both games on the road over the weekend to fall to 0-5 in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.
The Eagles suffered a 73-53 defeat to Central Christian on Friday night and then fell 88-77 at York College the following evening.
Against Central Christian in Kansas on Friday, CJ Ross grabbed a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for OKWU, which went down by as many as 22 points and trailed 41-25 at halftime.
Austin Fox went 4-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 13 points, while Jacob Hall was also in double figure scoring, after finishing with 10 points.
The Eagles, who were held to just 27.1 percent (16-59) shooting from the field, were out-rebounded 51-37 and out-assisted 19-9 in the defeat.
Alonzo Stafford scored a game-high 27 points to pace Central Christian, which shot 43.9 percent from the floor in the victory.
OKWU's trip to Nebraska for the back-to-back MCAC outing also ended in defeat, after the travelers went down by 11 points to York College.
The Mark Molder squad scored the opening four points of the contest, but was never in it thereafter.
Stjepanovic paced the visitors with 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, with Ross adding 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the defeat.
Hall was also in double digits — scoring 11 points for OKWU, which dropped five games in a row.
Oklahoma Wesleyan dropped to 6-14 overall on the season and sits at the bottom of the MCAC standings.
Devaun Evans had 15 points and Michael Johnson ended with 10 in the win for York College.
Haskell Indian Nations: Haskell Indian Nations dropped an 83-74 Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at Central Christian College on Saturday to fall to 3-2 in MCAC play on the year.
Tsalidi Sequoyah led four Indians in double figures with 18 points to go along with five rebounds. Stand Lovato (12 points), Duelle Gore (12 points), and Randy July (10 points) each scored in double figures for Haskell.
TEAM LEADERS:
Scoring - BU-Taylor Young (17.5)
Rebounding - BU-Alex Worthen-Harris (5.8)
Assists - BU-Percy Lemle (69)
Blocks - BU- Alex Worthen-Harris (14)
Steals - BU-Percy Lemle (20)
Three-Pointers Made - BU-Thomas Hammock (60)
Free Throw Percentage - BU-Taylor Young (84.1, 95-113)
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Bellevue - 3-Lemle, 4-Hammock, 5-Olushola, 12-Young, 22-Worthen-Harris
Oklahoma Wesleyan - 10-Pavic, 14-Stjepanovic, 15-Ross, 21-Johnson, 32-Hall
Haskell - 13-Gore, 14-Lovato, 20-Bruns, 23-July, 33-Sequoyah
GAME NOTES:
- Bellevue is 14-1 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 4-1 in true road games on the season
- Bellevue is 6-1 in neutral site games on the season
- Bellevue is 18-1 when scoring 64 or more points
- Bellevue is 0-2 when scoring 52 or fewer points
- Bellevue is 11-2 when allowing 70 or more points
- Bellevue is 7-1 when allowing fewer than 70 points
- Bellevue is 1-0 in overtime games on the season (Nov. 1, def. Friends 76-70)
- Bellevue is 16-1 when shooting better than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 2-2 when shooting worse than 40% from the field
- Bellevue is 15-1 when making 6 or more 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 3-2 when making 5 or fewer 3-Point Field Goals
- Bellevue is 10-1 when out-rebounding their opponent
- Bellevue is 6-2 when being out-rebounded by their opponent
- Bellevue is 2-0 when having the same number of rebounds as their opponent
- Bellevue is 15-2 following a victory
- Bellevue is 2-1 following a loss
Bellevue ranks in Division II
- Bellevue ranks in Division II
- 24, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.384)
- 30, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (.328)
- 34, Scoring Offense per Game (79.43)
- 37, Scoring margin (7.43)
- 37, Total Scoring Offense (1668)
- 38, Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.12)
- 46, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (7.67)
- 46, Free Throw Percentage (.706)
- 47, 3-Point Field Goals Made (161)
- 49, Field Goal Percentage Defense (.431)
- 49, Field Goal Percentage (.461)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 25th in Division II in Total 3-Point Field Goals Made (60)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 26th in Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.80)
- Thomas Hammock ranks 30th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (2.86)
- Percy Lemle is averaging 21.2 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last six games (5-1)
- 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)
Oklahoma Wesleyan Game Notes
- Oklahoma Wesleyan ranks in Division II
- 17, Steals per Game (8.95)
- 22, Total Steals (179)
- 23, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (8.35)
- 24, Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.65)
- 36, 3-Point Field Goals Made (167)
- 43, Rebounds per Game (37.20)
- CJ Ross ranks 48th in Division II in Total Steals (35)
- CJ Ross ranks 49th in Division II in Steals per Game (1.75)
- Oklahoma Wesleyan defeated Bellevue 90-85 on Feb. 1, 2014
- Bellevue defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan 103-65 on Feb. 8, 2014
- Bellevue defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan 87-75 on Mar. 4, 2014 (MCAC Championship)
- Bellevue leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, 34-17
Haskell Indian Nations Game Notes
- Haskell Indian Nations ranks in Division II
- 17, Steals per Game (8.95)
- 22, Total Steals (179)
- 23, 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (8.35)
- 24, Offensive Rebounds per Game (12.65)
- 36, 3-Point Field Goals Made (167)
- 43, Rebounds per Game (37.20)
- Randy July ranks 18th in Division II in Total Steals (42)
- Randy July ranks 29th in Division II in Steals per Game (2.00)
- Randy July ranks 32nd in Division II in Free Throw Percentage (.827)
- Stand Lovato ranks 25th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made (60)
- Stand Lovato ranks 30th in Division II in 3-Point Field Goals Made per Game (2.86)
- Tsalidi Sequoyah ranks 28th in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (2.90)
- Tsalidi Sequoyah ranks 39th in Division II in Rebounds per Game (7.65)
- Tsalidi Sequoyah ranks 48th in Division II in Total Rebounds (153)
- Bellevue defeated Haskell 98-76 on Jan. 31, 2014
- Bellevue defeated Haskell 115-71 on Feb. 7, 2014
- Bellevue defeated Haskell 97-66 on Feb. 28, 2014 (MCAC Quarterfinal)
- Bellevue leads the all-time series, which dates back to 2002, 27-0
UP NEXT:
Bellevue will return home next weekend to host these same two schools. The Bruins play Oklahoma Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Haskell Indian Nations at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
