FREMONT, Neb. -- A 15-3 Warrior run to open the second half gave Midland University a lead they never relinquished in a 69-65 win over the Bellevue University men's basketball team in the final game of the Midland University Thanksgiving Classic.
Midland snapped a five-game skid to improve to 2-5 while Bellevue slipped to 2-8 with the loss.
Similar to yesterday, both teams struggled out of the gate with Midland leading 3-0 before Liam Thompson put the Bruins on the board with a layup off a bullet pass from Jerome Bynum at the 16:53 mark to kick off an 8-0 BU run in 2:01 of game time prompting Midland to use a timeout.
The timeout did little to slow the charge as Bellevue scored seven of the next nine points. Christian Carter drained a three from the wing off a kick out from Bynum for a 15-7 lead before Midland burned another timeout.
Midland hit back out of that second timeout with an 11-2 run grab a one-point lead with 8:26 left in the first half but Bellevue scored 14 of the next 17 to jump back in front, 30-21, on a steal and dunk by Makeem Loudermill with 3:16 remaining.
Nigel Wilson, who led the way with 11 off the bench in the first half, canned a three to give BU their largest lead of the half at 33-24 and Bellevue took a 37-30 lead into intermission.
Bellevue out-shot Midland 48-41% in the first half as the Warriors relied on Derek Merwick and Ryan Larsen for the majority of their offense. The duo combined for 17 points.
Midland got off to a quick start in the second half, engineering a 15-3 run in the first 6:03 to take a two-point lead, 45-40.
The Bruins found their footing near the midway point of the second half as Caleb Chiang hit a three from the wing to pull within three points.
Chiang tied the game with 4:47 remaining, hitting an off-balance three on a kickout from Thompson to make it 62-all.
Merwick, with the game tied at 65-all, hit a contested jumper from the elbow to put the Warriors in front with 41.7 seconds left. Bellevue had two looks at the other end from three but neither attempt would fall and Midland held on for the 69-65 win.
Bellevue struggled to just 35% shooting in the second half while Midland hit 52% from the field and drained 15 of their 20 free throw attempts.
Wilson finished with a team-high 13 points for Bellevue and Chiang scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. Jaden Phillips, Emarr Vinson, and Bynum scored seven apiece with Phillips grabbing eight boards to share game-high honors.
Merwick finished with a game-high 19 for Midland. Jake Rueschhoff and Nick Dolezal joined him in double figures with 10 apiece.
Bellevue takes on the University of Nebraska Omaha in an exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 12:05 p.m. before returning home on Saturday, Dec. 2 for a 7 p.m. tip against Union College.
