LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Clutch free throw shooting propelled the Bellevue University men's basketball team past Viterbo University 68-58 on Saturday afternoon in a North Star Athletic Association tilt inside the R.W. Beggs Senior Gymnasium.
Records:
Bellevue: 14-11 (8-1 NSAA)
Viterbo: 11-12 (4-5 NSAA)
Recap:
The Bruins hit seven of eight free throws in the final 1:07 to hold off a second half rally by Viterbo and secure a 68-58 road victory.
Bellevue again started the game strong, racing out to a 10-4 lead on a three from Stephen Matthews with 14:52 on the clock but endured a stretch of 8:34 in which they made just one field goal.
Viterbo, however, was unable to capitalize at the other end and back-to-back three-pointers from Jaron Dickson and Matthews put the Bruins up 20-13 with 5:27 to go in the half.
The V-Hawks out-scored Bellevue 11-6 over the remainder of the first half to cut the BU lead to two points at the intermission, 26-24.
Dickson led BU with seven points at the break while Matthews tossed in six and Sequan Walker scored five to go along with six rebounds.
Jason Tichy was the V-Hawks' high-scorer in the half with eight points. Tyree Young and Jake Schroeckenthaler each chipped in four.
Bellevue started the second half in even stronger fashion, going on a 14-4 run in the first 3:34 to grab control of the game, 40-28, on a trey from Dickson.
Viterbo answered back with a 7-0 spurt in a span of 1:53 to pull within five points at 40-35 with 12:05 to play.
The teams traded mini-runs until Noah Fredrickson drained a three-pointer with 6:53 on the clock to pull Viterbo within four points, their smallest deficit of the second half.
Walker stretched the Bruin lead back to seven with a corner trey off a dish from Richard Reed with 3:40 to go.
Viterbo had multiple chances to make it a one possession game before Dickson hit a fadeaway jumper from the elbow, as the shot clock expired, to give BU a 61-54 lead with just 1:28 to play.
Walker secured his first double-double of the year, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dickson led the team offensively with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including going 3-of-5 from deep. Matthews contributed nine points to the cause.
Tichy led the V-Hawks with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Young with 10 points. Cade Anderson secured seven rebounds in the loss.
Up Next:
Bellevue hosts Valley City State on Friday, Feb. 1 with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The Bruins will be home again the following day when they host Mayville State at 5 p.m.
