MADISON, S.D. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team picked up seven of eight first place votes as they were chosen to finish first in the eight-team North Star Athletic Association in the annual Preseason Coaches' Poll as announced by the league office.
Last season Bellevue posted a 21-12 overall record and went 11-5 in NSAA play to earn their third-straight North Star Regular-Season Title. After reaching the semifinals of the NSAA the Bruins earned their NAIA-best 16th-straight National Tournament Appearance.
Bellevue earned 63 points and seven first place votes to top the poll as they're favored to win their fourth-straight NSAA Regular-Season crown.
Mayville State was chosen second in the preseason poll, earning 52 points and the one remaining first place vote. Dakota State was picked third with 45 points.
Rounding out the poll were Viterbo (4th place, 35 points), Dickinson State (5th place, 29 points), Valley City State (6th place, 27 points), Waldorf (7th place, 22 points), and Presentation (8th place, 17 points).
Points were awarded on an 8-1 basis (8 for first, 7 for second, etc.) and coaches could vote for their own team.
Each NSAA member will be playing a total of 14 conference games this season, with each team playing home and away against every school during the conference slate.
The conference season gets underway on Saturday, Dec. 1 when Bellevue hosts Dakota State at 5 p.m. in their conference-opener.
Following the NSAA regular-season, all eight teams will compete in the 2019 NSAA Postseason Tournament. The quarterfinal round will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at campus sites with the higher seeded team hosting. The semifinals and championship games will be held at the Watertown Civic Center in Watertown, S.D. on Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 23-24.
The North Star Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament Champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament to be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. from Mar. 6-12.
Shane Paben is back for his 11th season in charge of the Bruins. He's Bellevue's all-time men's basketball wins leader with a career record of 256-86 and has directed the Bruins to at least 20 wins in each of his 10 seasons in charge. He'll be joined on the bench by associate head coach Lucas Gabriel, who previously spent a one-year (2013-14) stint with BU as an assistant coach, and first-year assistant Benjiman Mary.
Bellevue returns four letter-winners off of last year's squad, all guards, in senior Richard Reed, senior Austin Moore, junior Connor Dukes, and sophomore Brian Stokes.
Reed ranked second on the team a year ago scoring 10.9 points per game and led the team with 31 steals. He shot 36.5 percent from deep and 76.7 percent from the free throw line last season.
Moore averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting an efficient 50.0 percent from the floor and 49.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Dukes appeared in all but one game last season averaging 3.7 points; he hit on 31.3 percent of his three-point attempts and was 81.3 percent from the charity stripe. Stokes played in 25 games and averaged 3.1 points while shooting 40.5 percent from three and 90.9 percent at the line.
Also back for the Bruins are a pair of players who redshirted a season ago in junior forward Josh Meier and junior guard Josh Lindsey-Hunter.
BU welcomes 11 newcomers to the roster for the 2018/19 season, including eight who will begin the season on the active roster. Senior guard Sequan Walker (Long Beach, Calif./Cal. State-L.A./Cabrillo HS) and freshman forward Josiah De La Cerda (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) are the non-juniors who will be on the active roster.
Also active will be six juniors in guards Stephen Matthew (Sacramento, Calif./Cal. State-Monterey Bay/Sacramento HS), Jaron Dickson (Modesto, Calif./Modesto JC/Central Valley HS), Tynan Velasquez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cabrillo College/Palmer HS), and Jemeil King (Oakland, Calif./Modesto JC/Blue Ridge Prep) and forwards Justin Bessard (Los Angeles, Calif./Pima CC/Calabasas HS) and Curtis Bias (Houston, Texas/Cabrillo College/Wabash Valley CC/Manvel HS).
Three newcomers – senior guard Amenofis Mitchell (Missouri City, Texas/Alaska-Fairbanks/Cabrillo College/Fort Bend Christian Academy), junior guard Matt Blaney (San Luis Obispo, Calif./Foothill College/Mission Prep), and freshman guard Andrew Parker (Kingsburg, Calif./Bullard HS) – will all redshirt this season.
BU opens their season at the York Tip-Off Classic in York, Neb. on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 26-27 with a pair of games. The Bruins take on host York College on Friday at 7 p.m. and Friends University on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Bellevue fans will get their first opportunity to see the Bruins at home on Monday, Oct. 29 when they host Dakota Wesleyan at 7 p.m. at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
