BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Despite a career-high 27 points from Paulo Araujo, the Bellevue University men's basketball team fell to visiting Valley City State University, 81-73, Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the loss, the Bruins fell to 15-12 on the season and 7-5 in the NSAA. VCSU improved to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in league play.
The Bruins, who have now lost three-straight games, are currently in second place in the NSAA standings, one game back from league-leading Viterbo (14-11, 8-4 NSAA).
Araujo finished 8-of-13 from the field and was 4-of-6 from behind the arc. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Eric Pierce added 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Kevin Schramm paced the Vikings with 22 points and six boards. Chris Thompson added 12 points, four assists, and a pair of steals.
After a 3-pointer by Jerome Bynum gave the Bruins a 21-17 lead midway through the first half, the Vikings scored 12-straight points to gain a 29-21 advantage with 7:21 left before intermission.
A seven-point VCSU burst increased the margin to 13 points at 36-23 at the 4:34 mark.
The Bruins responded with an 11-3 run over the next two minutes to trim the deficit to five points at 39-34. A layup by Araujo at the buzzer made it a three-point contest at 43-40 at the break.
Araujo led BU in the opening half with 11 points, including a 5-of-5 effort at the charity stripe. Pierce added eight points and three rebounds.
Schramm paced the Vikings in the first period with 12 points and two boards. Thompson recorded nine points, two assists, and two steals in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The two teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of the second half until the Vikings used an 8-2 run fueled by a pair of 3-pointers by Schramm to take a 57-49 lead with 15 minutes left in the game.
After a 5-2 BU run capped by a 3-pointer from Araujo pulled BU to within five points, the Vikings scored five straight to take a double-digit lead at 64-54 at the 11-minute mark.
A 5-0 Viking run capped by a highly-contested 10-foot fade-away jumper from Schramm increased the VCSU lead to 13 points at 71-58 with 7:47 left in the contest.
A 3-pointer by Araujo and a dunk by Justin Motley brought the Bruins to within eight at 73-65 at the six-minute mark.
The Vikings responded with seven-straight points to take their largest lead of the contest at 80-65 with four minutes remaining in the game.
BU scored eight-consecutive points to draw to within seven points at 80-73 with one minute left.
The Vikings hit 1-of-4 free throws in the final minute to secure the 81-73 victory.
The Bruins will host Dickinson State University on Saturday, Feb. 12, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
