FOREST CITY, Iowa -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team limited Waldorf University to just five points over the final 11:08 but in this game of runs and comebacks it was the Warriors prevailing 67-64 in North Star Athletic Association action on Saturday evening at Hanson Fieldhouse.
With the loss Bellevue falls to 13-10 on the year and 6-2 in NSAA play. Waldorf improves to 4-11 (3-4 NSAA) with their second win in as many days.
Eric Pierce and Jemeil King shared team-high honors with 13 points apiece for Bellevue. Justin Motley was the third Bruin in double figures with 12 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.
Lorenzo Smith poured in a game-high 17 to lead a balanced Waldorf attack that saw five players score at least nine points. Kesean Warren (13), Shandon Hicks (12), and Chett Helming (11) joined smith in double digits while Tristan Furgeson chipped in nine, including the eventual game-winner.
Bellevue started the game hot from deep, connecting on four-straight attempts after missing their initial trey to grab an early 12-7 lead.
Leading 18-12, Matt Blaney capped 7-0 BU spurt with a fast-break layup to grab their largest lead of the game just past the midway mark of the first half.
Smith answered with a three at the other end to kick-start a 9-2 run by the Warriors over the next 2:25 to trim the deficit to six points, 27-21.
Bellevue built their lead back up to seven points on a trey from Paulo Araujo with 4:19 to play but the Warriors ended the half by out-scoring the Bruins 13-6 over the final 3:31 with Furgeson hitting a three in the waning seconds to send the game, tied at 39-39, to halftime.
Pierce led all players with 10 points at the intermission. King and Blaney tallied eight apiece for the Bruins who were out-shot 65-47% in the first half.
Four Warriors – Smith, Hicks, Helming, and Furgeson – scored seven points each and Warren tossed in six in the half.
King opened the second half with a driving layup before a trifecta from Smith gave Waldorf their first lead of the game, 42-41. Warren giving the home side a three-point lead on a jumper at the 16:21 mark that Jaylen Wiltz answered with his lone three-pointer of the game to tie things at 50-all.
Warren buried a three on the next possession to spark a 12-0 Warrior run in a matter of 4:18 as Waldorf found themselves with their largest lead, 62-50, with 11:08 remaining.
Waldorf managed just two field goals the rest of the way as Bellevue mounted their comeback bid.
An 8-0 Bruin run, ended by a Helming jumper with 6:50 to go, preceded a 6-0 BU flash that saw the Bruins tie the game on a three-pointer from Pierce in the corner by the BU bench with 4:09 remaining.
Bellevue had chances down the stretch but the Bruins missed their final five field goal attempts and turned the ball over on their other possession in the last four minutes.
With 1:16 to play, Furgeson gave Waldorf the lead for good with a jump-hook and Hicks connected on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity to stretch the lead to 67-64 with 9.4 seconds remaining.
Bellevue was forced to inbound the ball three times in the final 3.2 seconds following a Waldorf foul and a deflection out of bounds. On the final play of the game, King took the inbounds pass as a defender flew by and got an uncontested look from about 28 feet but the shot only drew iron and Waldorf escaped with a three-point win.
The Bruins shot just 33% in the second half and hit on just 3-of-15 treys after an 8-of-16 effort from deep in the first 20 minutes.
Waldorf made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, hitting on 8-of-11 attempts, while Bellevue was just 3-of-6 at the line.
The Bruins play their final of five-straight road games next Saturday, Jan. 30 at against Trinity Christian College (4-6/2-3 CCAC). The non-conference tilt is slated for a 3 p.m. tip-off from DeVos Gymnasium on the Trolls' campus in Palos Heights, Ill.
