FOREST CITY, Iowa - Senior Percy Lemle (Carson, Calif.) scored a game-high 28 points but it wasn't enough as the No. 3 Bellevue University basketball team dropped an 81-75 heart-breaker in overtime at Waldorf College in a Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference match-up on Tuesday night.
The loss snaps a 6-game winning streak for Bellevue (22-4/8-2 MCAC) while Waldorf evens their record at 12-12 (8-2 MCAC) on the season.
The normally potent Bruin three-point attack was mostly silent on the night as Bellevue made just 6-of-22 attempts from beyond the arc.
Waldorf used a 7-0 run in a span of 1:23 to turn a two point deficit into a five point advantage in overtime. Trey Scott capped the run with a layup to put the Warriors ahead 73-68 with just 1:12 to play in the extra session. The Warriors held on from there, making 8-of-10 free throws in the final 42 seconds to remain perfect at home against the Bruins (3-0 all-time).
The home-standing Warriors got off to a strong start and scored the final five points of the first half to take a 13-point advantage into the locker room as Devin Graham scored on a layup with just 22 seconds before intermission.
The Bruins fought back over the course of the second half, out-scoring Waldorf 40-27 in the period to force overtime. Lemle made a lay-up with 35 seconds to play in regulation. Scott missed a pair of free throws for Waldorf with 10 seconds to play and Bellevue secured the rebound and called a timeout to set up a final play. Junior Taylor Young (Hawthorne, Calif.) drove to lane but he was unable to convert a lay-up at the buzzer and the contest proceeded into overtime.
Young, making his first appearance off the bench this season, contributed 14 points as the Bruins held a slim 23-19 edge in bench points. Senior Alex Worthen-Harris (Phoenix, Ariz.) pulled in a team co-high of nine rebounds, to match Lemle who handed out a team-best four assists on the night.
Senior Thomas Hammock (Compton, Calif.) hit three three-pointers on his way to nine points while senior Dimitri Chonis (Tucson, Ariz.) scored eight and pulled down five rebounds. Hammock has now made 188 three-pointers in his career to pull within two of third place on the Bellevue University career leaderboard.
For Bellevue it was their first overtime loss since dropping a 100-93 decision at Indiana Wesleyan on Nov. 5, 2011. They had won six straight overtime games during that span, including a pair of double overtime affairs.
The Bruins return to the hardwood on Friday, Feb. 13 when they host #15 College of the Ozarks at 7:30 p.m. at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
