FOREST CITY, Iowa -- Bellevue's BJ Shelton and Waldorf's Falmata Tula exchanged 30-point games but it was the Warriors who came out on top with an 84-82 North Star Athletic Association victory over the Bruins on Saturday evening at Hanson Fieldhouse.
The win was just the second in the last eight games for Waldorf who improve to 11-18 overall and 7-9 in NSAA play. Bellevue (19-10, 11-5 NSAA) has now lost back-to-back games for first time since early December.
Both Waldorf and Bellevue have already qualified for the NSAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Seeding, match-ups, and game times are all expected to be announced Sunday. The quarterfinal round of the tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Feb. 23 with the higher seed hosting.
Bellevue led by as many as seven points in the first half and took a 44-39 lead into the intermission.
The Bruins pushed that lead to nine points, 53-44, with 16:10 to play before Waldorf started to make their move. The Warriors used a 17-3 run over 4:15 to gain a 61-56 lead with 10:59 to play. The WU lead hovered in the 4-9 point range until Bellevue got within one with 26 seconds to play. Waldorf did enough down the stretch – hitting on five of six free throws in the game's final 30 seconds – to secure the narrow two-point victory.
Waldorf out-shot BU across the board holding an advantage in field goal percentage (49.1-38.6), 3-point field goal percentage (38.9-30.8), and free throw percentage (86.2-66.7). Bellevue kept the game close by posting another strong offensive rebounding effort – BU hauled in 18 offensive boards, compared to just eight for Waldorf – and winning the turnover battle, 14-5.
Jaffrey Stillman notched his third-straight double-double as he scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Bruins. Jalen Hall was BU's second-leading scorer, behind Shelton, with 16 points on the night.
Kaden Verdin recorded a double-double for Waldorf, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Kuchinka joined both Verdin and Tula in double-figures with 15 points of his own.
