Bruins advance to MCAC semifinals with 70-60 win over York

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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Seniors Percy Lemle and Alex Worthen-Harris combined for 40 points to lead the ninth-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 70-60 win over York College in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Friday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

Bellevue improved to 26-5 on the season and will play Waldorf College (15-14) at 5 p.m. Saturday in a semifinal matchup. York ended its season with a 15-15 record. Waldorf defeated Haskell Indian Nations University, 79-76, in Friday's first quarterfinal match-up.

Lemle led BU with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Worthen-Harris added 18 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks. 

Luther Thomas, Jr. led four Panthers in double figures with 13 points. Devaun Evans recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. 

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening period with Bellevue outshooting the Panthers 35.5 to 32.4 percent. The Bruins hit just 4-of-11 free throws as the teams went into the intermission tied at 28. Lemle led the Bruins with 10 points in the first half. 

Lemle and Dimitri Chonis combined for the Bruins' first 10 points of the second half as Bellevue used a 13-5 run to take a 41-33 lead with 16:32 remaining in the game.

A Cameron Coleman layup capped a 6-0 Panther run as York cut the lead to two points (41-39) at the 14-minute mark. BU responded with a 9-4 spurt to expand the lead back to seven (50-43) with 8:37 left.

Six-straight Panther points made it a three-point contest at 56-53 at 4:36. 

Five-straight points from Worthen-Harris, including a definitive slam dunk, gave BU a 63-55 lead with 2:46 remaining in the game. 

After Young scored on an 18-foot jumper as time expired on the shot clock, the Bruins missed a pair of free throws before York pulled to within five points at 65-60 on a Deon Willis layup with 41 seconds left. 

The Bruins nailed five free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the 70-60 victory.