Trio powers BU past Vikings into NSAA Championship Game

Box Score
NSAA Tournament Site

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The trio of Paulo Araujo, Jemeil King, and Vinny Belcaster combined for 53 points to power the second-seeded Bellevue University men's basketball team past No. 3-seeded Valley City State University, 73-63, in the semifinals of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament Thursday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.  

The Bruins (19-13) will host fifth-seeded Dakota State University (11-14) at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 in the NSAA Championship Game at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. DSU upset top-seeded Mayville State University, 66-65, in other semifinal action Thursday night in Mayville. 

Araujo drilled a game-high four 3-pointers, finishing with a career-high 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists. King finished with 18 points and a game-high six assists. Belcaster added 17 points, five boards, and a pair of assists. Justin Motley had 12 rebounds and three blocks in the victory. 

Kevin Schramm paced the Vikings with 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Hunter Sand and Chris Thompson chipped in with 12 points apiece.  

Trailing by five early, the Bruins scored nine-straight points to take a 22-18 lead midway through the first half as BU hit 10 of its first 15 shots. 

The Vikings responded with a 15-2 run over the next five minutes to gain a 33-24 advantage with five minutes remaining in the period. 

Four-straight points from Schramm gave the Vikings a 39-30 lead at the two-minute mark before the Bruins closed the half on a 6-2 run to close the deficit to 41-36 at the intermission.

King led the Bruins in the opening half with 10 points and four assists. Belcaster and Araujo chipped in with eight points apiece. 

Schramm paced the Vikings in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. 

Both teams shot well in the opening 20 minutes with BU holding a slight edge at 59.3 to 58.1 percent. 

An 8-2 run to open the second half gave the Bruins a 44-43 lead and a bucket by Vaj Rice boosted the BU advantage to 51-46 at the 13-minute mark, forcing a Viking timeout. 

After a 3-pointer by Belcaster gave the Bruins an eight-point cushion, VCSU used a 6-1 run to pull to within three points at 55-52 at the 8:49 mark. 

Eight points from Araujo sparked a 10-2 BU run to push the lead to double digits at 65-54 with four minutes left in the contest. 

The two teams traded baskets the remainder of the contest as BU secured the 73-63 victory.  

Notes:

• The championship game appearance will be the third for the Bruins since joining the NSAA in 2015-16. 
• BU has won the NSAA Tournament on one occasion (2017). 
• Bellevue is 12-8 all-time in conference championship games.
• The Bruins are 11-2 in home championship games.