BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team raced out to an early 24-1 lead and never looked back en route to a convincing 79-48 victory over visiting Dickinson State University Saturday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The win moved the Bruins to 16-12 on the season and 8-5 in the NSAA. DSU dropped to 9-18 overall and 6-7 in league play.
Bellevue is currently tied with Viterbo University for first place in the conference standings.
The Bruins were led by Eric Pierce who recorded his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds, along with three assists.
Isaiah Bates and Justin Motley finished with 12 points apiece. Taylor Pomeroy and Vinny Belcaster chipped in with nine points each.
Josiah Haaland led the Blue Hawks with nine points and seven rebounds. John Evans and Trey Hladky added eight points apiece in the losing effort.
Led by seven points from Bates, the Bruins scored the first 20 points of the contest, holding the Blue Hawks scoreless for nearly nine minutes as DSU missed its first 15 shots.
The Blue Hawks did not make a field goal until nearly 12 minutes into the game as BU led by as many as 23 points before taking a 35-15 lead heading into the intermission.
Bates led BU in the first half with nine points and two rebounds. Belcaster added seven points and was 2-of-2 from behind the arc.
DSU, who shot just 19.2 percent from the field in the opening half, was led by Bryce Knox's five points and three boards. The Blue Hawks were 5-of-26 from the field in the first half, including a 1-of-8 effort from behind the 3-point line.
BU opened the second half on a 9-2 run to extend the margin to 27 points following a dunk by Bates to make it 44-17 with 17:22 left in the contest.
A layup by John Evans completed a 9-3 DSU run to draw the Blue Hawks to within 21 points at the 14-minutes mark.
The Bruins responded with an 11-3 run to push the advantage to 29 points at 58-29 midway through the second half.
A 3-point play by Justin Motley gave BU a 32-point cushion at 65-33 at the eight-minute mark.
A Vaj Rice layup gave BU a 34-point lead and DSU never got closer than 30 points the remainder of the contest as the Bruins cruised to the 79-48 victory.
The Bruins will host Dakota State University in the final regular-season contest of the season next Friday, Feb. 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
