VALLEY CITY, N.D.-- BJ Shelton scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team past Valley City State University, 79-68, for their first North Star Athletic Association victory of the season on Saturday evening.
With the win Bellevue evens their record at 7-7 and pushes their conference mark to 1-2. Valley City, however, falls to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Faced with a tie score, 13-13, with 11:42 to play in the opening stanza, Bellevue used a 13-3 spurt over the next 4:32 to seize a 26-16 advantage, a lead they would not relinquish. The Bruins took a 35-26 lead into the locker room and Valley City wouldn't get closer than 65-59 in the second half.
Both teams struggled from beyond the arc where BU shots 29.4 percent (5-of-17) and the Vikings converted on just 17.7 percent of their attempts (3-of-17)
The free throw line wasn't kind to the hosts either as VCSU hit on just 35.0 percent of their tries from the charity stripe (7-of-20). Bellevue was a much more efficient 76.9 percent from the line (30-of-39).
Shelton connected on 6-of-9 field goal attempts and was 9-of-14 from the stripe to lead the Bruins. He was supported offensively by Nick Hilton (12 points), Blake Wilder (9 points), and Austin Moore (8 points).
Jayden Ferguson poured in a game-high 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting (1-of-5 from three, 2-4 from the line) but his teammates offered little in support. Rashad Satahoo contributed 15 and Ellwood Ellenson added 10 but were just 10-of-25 in doing so.
The Bruins owned the glass as a team, out-rebounding the Vikings 41-27 and holding a 12-9 edge in offensive boards.
Bellevue will play their first NSAA home games this week when they host Presentation College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Waldorf on Saturday at 5 p.m.
