MAYVILLE, N.D. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team registered their lowest scoring output in over 20 years in a 58-43 loss at Mayville State University in North Star Athletic Association play on Friday evening.
With the loss, BU slips to 15-10 on the year and 7-3 in conference play. MSU improves to 13-8 and evens their NSAA record at 5-5.
Justin Motley scored 14 points on 6-7 shooting and hauled in eight rebounds for the Bruins who shot just 36% as a team. Vinny Belcaster was the lone other Bruin in double figures as he finished with 12 points.
Sebastian Griffin registered a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the Comets while Thomas Gieske chipped in 10 points in the win.
Motley scored on Bellevue's opening possession but BU did not score again until Isaiah Bates hit a free throw at the 14:59 mark. During that time, the Comets used a 9-0 run to grab a 9-2 lead.
The Bruins' next field goal came with just under 12 minutes to play when Vinny Belcaster scored off a pass from Vaj Rice on an inbounds play.
The defensive stalemate continued until a Paulo Araujo trey opened the scoring from beyond the arc for Bellevue to make it a 14-10 game at the 7:46 mark. Jamison Kramer answered a short time later with a three of his own for the Comets.
MSU grew their lead to a game-high 11 points at the half with Gieske scoring just before the first half buzzer.
The 15 points represented the fewest by the Bruins in a half this season as they slumped to 29% shooting and turned the ball over 11 times.
Bellevue started strong out the break. Despite a turnover on their first possession, their defense created some offense with back-to-back steals leading to a pair of transition layups to trim the deficit to 26-19 prompting a Comet timeout.
Another bucket from Motley made it a 6-0 Bruin run before Latrelle Franklin connected on a long three.
BU continued their strong defensive play as Araujo drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled to make it a one-possession game, 33-30 with 12:58 to play.
Kramer again had an answer for Mayville, hitting a three from the ring to push the host's lead back to six points. That kicked off a 14-4 run that saw Mayville stretch their lead to 13, 47-34.
Bellevue travels to Aberdeen, S.D. tomorrow for their final road game of the regular-season. Tip-off from inside the Strode Center is scheduled for 5 p.m.
