BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Despite a career-high 28 points from Michael Wright, the Bellevue University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought, 83-71, contest to visiting Mayville State University Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Association.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 14-12 on the season and 6-4 in the NSAA. Mayville State improved to 10-4 overall and 7-3 in league play.
The MSU win moved the Comets into sole possession of first place in the league standings.
The 28 points by Wright tied for the most points scored by a Bruin this season. Jemeil King scored 28 points in the Bruins' 77-69 victory over Valley City State on Jan. 9.
Wright finished 10-of-20 from the field and added five rebounds, three blocks, and a pair of assists in the loss. Eric Pierce registered 12 points and three rebounds. Jemeil King was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points along with four assists and a pair of steals.
Latrelle Franklin and John Ketchel paced the Comets with 17 points apiece. Xavier Towne added 15 points and five rebounds.
After a dunk by Thomas Gieske gave the Comets an 11-4 lead, the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to tie the contest at the 13-minute mark of the first half.
MSU countered with an 11-2 run to grab a 24-15 advantage midway through the opening period.
A 16-3 spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Ketchel pushed the lead to 42-22 with three minutes remaining in the first half.
Four-straight points by Wright cut the deficit to 16 points before the Comets settled for a 40-24 halftime advantage.
Wright led BU in the opening half with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.
Franklin paced the Comets with 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
MSU outshot the Bruins 54.5 to 38.7 percent in the first half and was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Neither team scored for the first two minutes of the second half until BU went on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 points at the 16-minute mark.
A 3-point play by Pierce made it a single-digit contest at 52-43 with 12:29 remaining in the contest.
Seven-straight points from Wright cut the deficit to four points at 57-53 with 9:29 left in regulation. After a 3-pointer from Pierce once again made it a four-point game at 72-68, MSU went on a five-point run to stretch the margin to nine points (77-68) at the 1:29 mark.
A 3-pointer by Jaylen Wiltz brought BU to within six points but that was as close as the Bruins would get as MSU earned the 83-71 victory.
The Bruins will host Presentation College at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 6) in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
