BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team held off a furious second-half Viking rally, snapping Valley City State University's nine-game winning streak, as BU recorded a 77-69 victory Saturday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Bellevue, which has now won five-straight games, improved to 11-9 on the season and 4-1 in the NSAA. VCSU, who is receiving votes in the latest NAIA top 25 poll, dropped to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in league play.
The Bruins led by as many as 21 points in the second half, but saw the Vikings fight back to tie the contest, before Jemeil King took over to help seal the eight-point victory.
King, who scored 15 points in the final six minutes of the game, led the Bruins with 28 points, six rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists. Lewis Hayes added 14 points and four rebounds. Jaylen Wiltz finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Michael Wright narrowly missed registering a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds, to go along with a game-high five blocked shots.
Jalen Addison led the Vikings with 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Kevin Schramm recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Hunter Sand was the third Viking in double figures, finishing with 12 points and nine boards.
Addison scored all eight points in an 8-0 Viking run as VCSU grabbed an early 11-4 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. The Bruins countered with nine-straight, tying the contest at 15-all with 7:38 left in the opening period.
A 3-pointer by King capped a seven-point BU run giving Bellevue a nine-point advantage. Two VCSU technical fouls in the final 30 seconds helped BU finish the half on a 19-4 run as the Bruins took a 36-24 lead into the intermission.
King led BU in the opening half with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Justin Motley and Wiltz added eight points apiece.
Addison paced the Vikings with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes of play and was the only Viking player with more than three points.
Hayes scored six points in a 10-1 BU run to open the second half, expanding the advantage to 21 points at 46-25 with 16:43 left in the game. The Vikings responded with an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to 15 points (48-33) with 14:50 remaining.
The Vikings went on a 12-point run to draw to within six points (52-46) at the 9:17 mark. After three free throws by Hayes, VCSU scored eight-straight to make it a one-point game at 55-54 with 6:33 left in regulation.
After a 3-pointer by Kevin Schramm tied the contest at 59-all, the Bruins scored six-consecutive points on layups by Pierce, Wright, and King to move ahead, 65-59, at the 4:22 mark.
With a key chance to cut the lead to two points, King's steal and dunk kept the margin at six (71-65) at the 2:12 mark.
The Bruins nailed four free throws in the final minute to seal the 77-69 victory.
Bellevue will travel to Aberdeen, S.D. next Friday, Jan. 15 for a 7:30 p.m. NSAA contest against Presentation College at the Strode Center.
