Cold spells too much for Bruins to overcome

ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Jerome Bynum scored a season-high 25 points, but it was not enough for the Bellevue University men's basketball team as the Bruins fell 69-58 to #18 Northwestern College in the final game of the 2023 NWC/Pizza Ranch Classic on Saturday.
Northwestern stays unbeaten, improving to 4-0, while Bellevue slips to 0-6.

Bynum led the Bruins with 25 points and grabbed five rebounds in the loss. Makeem Loudermill added nine points and five boards, while TJ Fritz and Jaden Phillips led the way on the glass, collecting six rebounds apiece.

Alex Van Kalsbeek (18) and Craig Sterk (17) combined for 35 points for Northwestern. They were joined in double figures by Dillon Carlson, who poured in 10 points, while Kaleb Booth and Zach LaFave added nine apiece, and LaFave grabbed a game-best nine rebounds.

Bellevue and NWC traded barbs early, with the Bruins taking a four-point lead on a basket by Liam Thompson at the 12:13 mark of the first half.

A scoring lull beseeched the Bruins, who managed just a pair of field goals over the next 10 minutes as the Red Raiders used a 19-4 run to snag a 29-18 lead.

Five-straight points from Loudermill got the Bruins back in the game, trailing by eight, 33-25 at halftime. Bynum led the Bruins with eight points at the break, while LaFave paced NWC with nine in the half.

Bellevue began the second half strong, scoring the first 11 points to take a 36-33 lead.

Northwestern answered with an 11-0 run of their own to re-establish their advantage as the Bruins scored just one bucket over an eight-plus minute span.

Nigel Wilson found Liam Thompson on the opposite block for a layup as Bellevue trimmed the lead down to six, 54-48, with 3:18 to play.

A pair of layups by Craig Sterk and Alex Van Kalsbeek, with the latter adding a free throw, pushed the lead back to double figures with 1:34 to play.

The Bruins struggled to just 34 percent shooting, though they did go 10-of-13 at the line and turned the ball over 17 times. NWC shot 44% from the floor, hit a matching eight threes, and sank 19-of-21 from the charity stripe.

Bellevue returns home next weekend to host the Fairfield Inn by Marriott Bruin Classic on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 17-18. BU faces Ozark Christian on Friday at 7 p.m. and Harris-Stowe State on Saturday at 5 p.m.