BELLEVUE, Neb. -- After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Bellevue University men's basketball squad responded to take a 13-point lead of its own in the second period, before holding on for a dramatic 61-60 victory over Waldorf College Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The 20th-ranked Bruins, who won their fifth-straight game, improved to 17-7 on the season and 5-1 in the NSAA. With the win, BU takes a half-game lead in the conference standings. Waldorf fell to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in league play.
Mike Cardenas led the Bruins with 15 points on five 3-pointers, while adding four rebounds. Marquis Aaron recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Chris Burton chipped in 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Erik Brewer led the Warriors with 22 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Parish added 17 points, five assists and four rebounds.
The Bruins got off to a slow start, shooting just 23.5 percent from the field in the first half, trailing by as many as 13 points, before going into the break with a nine-point (31-22) halftime deficit. Bellevue hit only 2-of-12 shots from behind the arc, but managed to keep the margin to single digits as the Warriors nailed just 37 percent of their shots in the opening period.
Cardenas led the Bruins in the first half with six points, while Aaron registered five points and six rebounds. Parish (15) and Brewer (10) scored 25 of Waldorf's 31 points in the first period.
The Bruins scored the first five points of the second period and used a 15-6 run to knot the contest at 37-37 at the 13:41 mark. Cardenas' third 3-pointer of the second half gave BU its first lead of the game at 40-37 with 12:43 remaining.
Four-straight points from Burton capped a 9-0 Bruin run, giving BU a 49-40 advantage with just over nine minutes left in the game.
Two free throws from Olutola Olushola helped BU surge ahead by 13 points at the 7:31 mark.
With BU leading 59-47 at the 5:41 mark, the Warriors responded with a furious comeback, scoring 11-straight points capped by a dunk by Devon Collins to pull Waldorf to within one at 59-58 with 25 seconds remaining in the contest.
Olushola hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining before Brewer nailed a pair from the charity stripe to pull WC to within one at 61-60 with two seconds left in the contest.
Olushola mishandled the ensuing inbounds pass, giving the Warriors a chance to win, but Michael Morgan's off-balance jumper in the paint at the buzzer was off the mark helping BU escape with the one-point win.
The same two teams will meet again next Saturday, Jan. 30, in Forest City, Iowa for a 5 p.m. contest at Hanson Fieldhouse.
