BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Sequan Walker's driving layup as time expired helped the Bruins' extend their win streak to nine games as the Bellevue University men's basketball team pulled out a dramatic 52-50 victory over visiting Mayville State University Saturday evening in North Star Athletic Association play at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 16-11 on the season and 10-1 in the NSAA. The victory also kept the Bruins' one-game ahead of Presentation for first place in the league standings.
MSU dropped to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in league play, with the loss.
Walker led the Bruins with 12 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of assists. Richard Reed added 11 points, three boards, and two assists.
Eric Staebler paced the Comets with 16 points and six rebounds, while Max Cooper finished with 12 points and three boards.
Both teams struggled offensively, with the Bruins holding a slight advantage in free-throw percentage at 40 to 39.3 percent.
The Comets used an eight-point run to take an early 18-12 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter. The Bruins got as close as three points before MSU settled for a 28-22 halftime advantage.
BU, who shot just 33.3 percent in the first half, was led by Reed's seven points in the opening 20 minutes. Staebler sparked the Comets in the opening half with 12 points and four rebounds.
MSU expanded the lead to eight points (32-24) early in the second half following consecutive baskets by Cooper, before the Bruins used a 12-4 run to tie the game at 36-all with 13:26 left in the contest.
After the two teams traded five-point runs, neither team led by more than two points the remainder of the contest.
With the game tied at 50-all, the Bruins called a timeout with 4.1 seconds remaining setting up the final play. Walker drove the lane and drained the contested layup as the buzzer sounded, giving BU the 52-50 victory.
The Bruins will travel to Dickinson, N.D. next Friday, Feb. 8 for an 8:30 p.m. (CST) contest at Dickinson State University.
