BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Four players reached double figures as the No. 24 Bellevue University men's basketball team withstood a late rally to earn a 78-77 victory over visiting Chadron State College on Tuesday evening in non-conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Bellevue improves to 4-4 on the season with their fourth win in their last six games. The game was the season-opener Chadron State as the Eagles begin the year 0-1.
BU came out sloppy, turning the ball over nine times in the first half but managed to keep things tight into the intermission. Trailing 40-29 with 2:54 to play, the Bruins went on a 14-1 run to close the half, keyed by Tyler Morgan's three-pointer and five points from Mike Cardenas during the stretch.
The second half looked to be more even before Bellevue pulled ahead with a 16-4 spurt over a stretch of 5:13. The Bruins capped the run to gain a 12-point lead on a three from Jerred Cook with 5:50 to play but Austin Hall scored five-straight points with back-to-back baskets and a free throw over the next 1:43 to cut the BU lead to single digits.
With 44 seconds to play Hall used a put-back dunk to trim the BU lead to just three at 77-74. Cardenas hit the first of two free throws with 14 seconds to go to make it a two possession game. Warren Gordon hit a three-pointer as time expired to account for the final margin.
Cardenas scored a team-high 15 points which included knocking down 7-of-8 attempts from the free throw line. He was supported by Blake Wilder's 13 points and eight rebounds, Jerred Cook's 12 points, and BJ Shelton's 10 points.
Bellevue piled up 14 assists on 23 field goals. Jalen Hall dished out a game-high six assists to go along with nine points and four rebounds for the home-standing Bruins. Terrance Wienecke recorded five assists.
Gordon tallied 30 points – including 19 in the first half – on 10-of-18 shooting to lead all scorers. He sank 7-of-10 three-pointers for the Eagles. Hall joined him in double figures with 15 points and added six rebounds while Jordan Perry scored 12 and pulled down five rebounds.
Bellevue returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 19 when they travel to Point Lookout, Mo. for a 5 p.m. tip-off against College of the Ozarks.
