BELLEVUE, Neb. – In their first action as a Bruin, TJ Fritz, and Nigel Wilson combined for 47 points, but it wasn't quite enough as NCAA Division II Chadron State College defeated the Bellevue University men's basketball team, 107-99, Friday night in the Chick-fil-A Classic at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins hit 14 3-pointers and shot 57.1 percent from the field in the loss.
Fritz finished with 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. Wilson registered 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while adding seven blocked shots, six assists, and four rebounds.
Jerome Bynum added 19 points and was 5-of-7 from long range. Jaden Phillips was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 12 points along with eight boards.
Josh Robinson paced the Eagles with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Bryce Lamiter added 19 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Jalen Patterson finished with 17 points and was 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
The Eagles sped out to a 14-6 lead in the first five minutes of the contest before BU used a 14-6 run of their own to knot the contest at 20-all. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the half with neither team leading by more than four points. A short jumper by Phillips gave the Bruins a 45-44 lead heading into the intermission.
Wilson led BU in the first half with 13 points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists. Fritz added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
Latimer and Robinson paced the CSC offense in the opening 20 minutes of play with 12 points each.
After the Bruins scored the first four points of the second half to build a five-point advantage at 49-44, the Eagle battled back with a five-point run to tie the contest at 49 on a 3-pointer by Latimer. CSC used a 9-2 run to gain a 64-57 lead on a layup by Martin Poznanovic.
A 3-pointer by Bynum and a steal and layup by Phillips pulled the Bruins to within two points at 68-66 with 10:29 left in the game. The Eagles responded with 11 straight points over the next 75 seconds, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Peterson to stretch the lead to 13 points at 79-66.
Two 3-pointers in back-to-back possessions by Fritz reduced the deficit to eight points at 86-78 at the 6:37 mark. The Eagles countered with a 16-4 spurt to expand the advantage to 20 points at 102-82 with three minutes remaining.
Another triple by Fritz capped a furious 12-0 Bruin run to make it an eight-point contest at 102-94 with 1:12 left in the game.
A 3-pointer by Bynum brought BU to within six points at 105-99 with 10 seconds remaining. A pair of free throws by Patterson sealed the eight-point victory for Chadron.
The Bruins will conclude the tournament on Saturday with a 7 p.m. matchup against No. 16-ranked Kansas Wesleyan (0-1). The Coyotes lost to Dickinson State, 73-71, in the first men's game of the Chick-fil-A Classic.
