Resilient Bruins rally for double OT win at USF

JOLIET, Ill. -- After leading for just 31 seconds in regulation the Bellevue University men's basketball team overcame 23 turnovers to rally past host University of St. Francis 77-71 in double overtime to wrap up play at the USF Thanksgiving Classic from the Pat Sullivan Center.

Bellevue improves to 6-6 overall following a 2-1 showing at the USF Thanksgiving Classic. St. Francis, playing their first game of the season, falls to 0-1.

Despite a sloppy first half which saw the Bruins turn the ball over a dozen times, BU trailed by just seven points, 33-26, at the half.

USF scored the first five points of the game and led by as many as 12 following a jumper from Carlos Tovias at the 13:05 mark.

Bellevue trimmed the deficit to eight on a basket from Isaiah Bates at the 11:52 mark but the Fighting Saints again pushed their advantage to 12 on a pair of free throws from Josh Cherry.

A 4-0 spurt from the Bruins' Michael Wright, pulled BU to within five with 2:10 to play and Bellevue closed to within four on a layup by Jemeil King with just under a minute to go in the half.

Jake Karli hit a three with 27 seconds to play to put St. Francis ahead by seven at the break.

King led all players with 11 at the break. Tovias, Carter Fayhee, and Reihana Maxwell Topia each had five for USF which saw nine players work their way into the scoring column.

In addition to a turnover advantage, St. Francis rode the strength of a 5-of-7 effort beyond the arc to their halftime lead.

Bellevue took their first lead of the game with 9:25 to play, at 45-44, when Jaylen Wiltz hit the first of two free throws but USF answered by scoring the next five points to retake the lead, 49-45.

After the Bruins tied the game at 49-all, USF's Joey Buggemi buried a three to put the Fighting Saints back in front. Lewis Hayes converted a layup for BU at the offensive end to pull the Bruins back within a point with 3:36 to go.

Bellevue again tied the game with 1:23 to play when Keshawn Bruner hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 54-all. DeAndre Johnson promptly posted up at the other end and made a layup to put St. Francis back ahead by two.

Bruner and King both had good looks from beyond the arc on the ensuing Bruin possession but both shots found iron and caromed off.

Twice in the final 24 seconds, Johnson missed the front end of 1-and-1 attempts to keep BU in the game. As a result, King finally tied the game with 10.5 seconds to play on a coast-to-coast lay-in.

Eric Ting had a chance to win it for USF in regulation as he dribbled by his defender but missed the layup.

In the extra session, it was the Fighting Saints that drew first blood as Ting converted and old-fashioned three-point play. USF remained in front until King drove the lane for BU and scored a layup to put the Bruins ahead 60-59 with 1:40 to go.

After a blocked shot on a Tovias layup gave Bellevue a defensive stop, King drew a foul and hit on both ends of a 1-and-1 to put BU ahead 62-59 with under a minute remaining.

Buggemi came up with an off-balanced three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left to tie the game and force a second overtime period.

Bellevue took an early lead in the second overtime and Wiltz created a little separation with an off-balanced floater to go up 67-64.

The Bruins pushed their lead to five points, 73-68, with 46.2 seconds to play when Bruner hit the first of two free throws. Buggemi again came up big for the Fighting Saints, draining a long-range three with a hand in his face to cut the deficit to just two, 73-71, with 34.9 seconds to play.

Wiltz hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 20 seconds and Bruner hit on 1-of-2 to salt away the six-point victory.

King, one of five Bruins in double figures, finished with a game-high 19 points and led BU with six boards. Bruner (13), Belcaster (12), Hayes (11), and Wiltz (10) joining in the double figure scoring.

Buggemi led USF with 16 points. Johnson netted a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 boards, and Lewis Holey chipped in 10 points.

For their efforts both Jemeil King (14.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6 Steals) and Lewis Hayes (12.7 PPG, 70.8% FG, 4 Blocks) were named to the USF Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament team. Joining them were Joey Buggemi (St. Francis), DeAndre Johnson (St. Francis), Brandon Daughtry (East-West), Rodney Gatson (East-West), Dylan Allen (IU South Bend), and TreVion Crews (Bethel).

Bellevue opens North Star Athletic Association play on Saturday, Dec. 5 when they travel to Madison, S.D. for a 5 p.m. tip-off against Dakota State University (0-2) from the DSU Fieldhouse.