BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Six Bruins scored at least nine points and BU withstood a furious comeback as the Bellevue University men's basketball team defeated Waldorf University, 85-81, Saturday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins, who won their third-straight game, improved to 9-7 on the season and 3-2 in the NSAA. Waldorf fell to 5-9 overall and 1-3 in league play.
BJ Shelton led the Bruins with 19 points and eight rebounds. Mike Cardenas nailed five 3-pointers, scoring 15 points while adding five boards. Jerred Cook poured in 11 points while adding three rebounds and a pair of assists. Nick Hilton added 10 points, five assists, and two rebounds.
Brady Kuchinka (20) and June Prowell (19) combined for 39 points to pace the Warrior offense.
The Bruins connected on four 3-pointers, racing out to an 18-1 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. Waldorf responded with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to trim the lead to eight points at 18-10 at the 13-minute mark.
After a layup by Michael Morgan sliced the lead to six points at 27-21 with 6:32 left in the half, the Bruins closed the period on an 18-7 run to take a 45-28 lead into the intermission.
Jalen Hall and Cook each had nine points to lead the BU scoring in the first half. Morgan had 10 first-half points to pace the Warriors.
An 8-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half helped BU build a 23-point cushion at 53-30. Waldorf countered with a 21-8 run to cut the lead to 10 points at 61-51 with 11:12 remaining in the contest.
Cardenas hit two-straight 3-pointers to give BU a 75-61 lead at the 5:18 mark.
Nine-straight Warrior points brought WU to within six points at 79-73 with 58 seconds left in the game. A 3-pointer by Kuchinka made it a 3-point game at 81-78 with 13 seconds on the clock. The Bruins nailed four free throws in the final eight seconds to secure the 85-81 victory.
The Bruins return to action on Thursday-Friday, Dec. 29-30, when they host the four-team Fairfield Inn Holiday Classic at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. Bellevue will battle Midland University at 5 p.m. on Dec. 29 and St. Francis (Ind.) at 5 p.m. on Dec. 30.
