SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Briar Cliff scored the game's first 10 points as the Bellevue University men's basketball team fell 78-58 to the Chargers on Friday evening in the season-opener for both teams.
Bellevue missed their first five field goal attempts, falling behind 10-0, before Martis Johnson scored in the paint to put the Bruins on the board.
A layup from Vinny Belcaster with 8:13 left in the half pulled the Bruins to within four, 19-15. Briar Cliff limited BU to just one field goal over the next 7:18 to take a 29-19 lead before Taylor Pomeroy hit a trey and Christian Carter scored a driving layup at the buzzer to cut the halftime deficit to 29-24.
Bellevue shot 38.5 percent in the first half to BCU's 36 percent but the Chargers were 4-of-12 from deep and out-scored BU 5-0 in points off turnovers. The Bruins hit on 2-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Justin Motley pulled BU to within one possession, scoring off a dish from Eric Pierce with 16:19 to play as the Bruins kept things close early in the second half.
Unfortunately, for Bellevue, that was as close as they would get. The Bruins were plagued by nine second-half turnovers and Briar Cliff parlayed that into a 21-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Chargers shot 67.9 percent in the second half and turned the ball over just one time.
Quinn Vesey hit a three to push the lead back to double figures, 56-45 with 9:10 to play. The Chargers took over from there, leading by as many as 21 down the stretch and out-scoring Bellevue 22-13 to wrap up the victory.
Belcaster led BU with 12 points and Paulo Araujo joined him in double figures with 11. Motley scored eight points, pulled down a game-high eight boards, and blocked a pair of shots.
Kyle Boerhave paced the Chargers with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Jaden Kleinhesselink added 14 while Conner Groves, Vesey, and Matthew Stilwill each chipped in nine.
Bellevue plays in the Jeff Uphaus Memorial Tournament on Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 27-28 in Olathe, Kan. The Bruins face Sterling College Wednesday at 5 p.m. and will face either MidAmerica Nazarene or Kansas Christian on Thursday at a time to be determined by Wednesday's results.
