BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Jemeil King and Niamey Harris combined for 34 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to an 81-69 non-conference victory over Avila University Saturday afternoon at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins snapped a two-game losing skid, improving to 3-2 on the season. Avila fell to 1-2 overall.
King finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals. Harris added 16 points, six boards, three assists, and two steals. Lewis Hayes was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 12 points, along with six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
Shandon Boone led all players with 36 points along with five rebounds. No other Eagle reached double figures in scoring.
Avila missed its first six shots, going scoreless for the first five minutes of the game as BU built a 7-0 lead. Two-consecutive free throws by Isaiah Bates extended the BU advantage to 15-6 midway through the first half.
The Eagles responded with consecutive 3-pointers to slice the lead to 15-12. A 3-pointer by Boone tied the contest at 19-19 at the 7:53 mark of the first half. With the game still tied at 27 apiece, the Bruins used a 12-3 run to take a 39-30 lead with just over a minute remaining before halftime. Avila used four-straight free throws to end the half as BU took a 41-35 edge heading into the break.
Amenofis Mitchell led the Bruins in the opening half with eight points and two rebounds. Harris added seven points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Boone paced the Eagles with 19 first-half points while adding four rebounds.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Hayes and Jaylen Wiltz gave BU its first double-digit lead of the game at 56-44 with 13:28 left in the contest. A layup by Jaron Dickson pushed the BU advantage to 18 points (68-50) at the 8:32 mark.
The Eagles countered with an 11-0 run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from Boone to pull Avila to within single digits at 70-63 with four minutes remaining in the game.
Five-straight points from King pushed the lead back to 13 points. The Bruins nailed 8-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes to preserve the 81-69 victory.
Bellevue will travel to Forest City, Iowa next Friday, Nov. 15 when they battle (RV) Hope International at 6 p.m. in the Waldorf Classic.
