BELLEVUE, Neb. -- After squandering a 20-point second-half advantage, the Bellevue University men's basketball team used two late free throws by Liam Thompson to open North Star Athletic Association action with a dramatic 69-68 victory over visiting Dakota State University Saturday afternoon in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 6-11 on the season and 1-0 in the NSAA. DSU dropped to 10-7 overall and 0-1 in league play.
TJ Fritz led the Bruins with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from long range. Thompson added nine points, seven rebounds, and a pair of assists. Jaden Phillips finished with nine points and three boards.
Mison Coilton paced the Trojans with 20 points, eight rebounds, and five steals before fouling out with 17 seconds remaining in the contest. Emmanuel Akpan added 12 points and five rebounds. Josh Lewis was the third Trojan in double figures, finishing with 10 points along with three steals and two rebounds.
Four 3-pointers by Fritz ignited a 12-2 Bruin run as BU built a 19-5 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half.
A 9-0 BU spurt capped by 3-pointers from Christian Carter and Jaden Phillips extended the Bruin advantage to 19 points at 29-9 at the 7:41 mark. The Trojans responded with a 14-4 run sparked by a pair of deep 3-pointers from Pankonen to slice the deficit to nine points (32-23) with 2:37 remaining before the intermission.
The Bruins ended the half on a 10-5 run to take a 42-28 lead into the halftime break.
Fritz scored 18 first-half points after going 7-of-8 from the field, including a 4-of-5 effort from long range. Carter added eight points and four assists.
Pankonen paced the Trojan offense in the opening half with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point land.
Two 3-pointers by Jerome Bynum helped BU push the advantage to 19 points at 52-33 with 16:25 left in the contest.
After a 3-pointer by Raydden Grobe extended the Bruin lead to 20 points, DSU went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 13 at the 11-minute mark.
Five straight Trojan points made it an 11-point (61-50) game with eight minutes left. Six straight points by Emmanuel Apkan, including a 4-point play and a dunk, made it a single-digit contest at 63-56 with 5:42 remaining in the game.
A 6-0 Trojan run highlighted by a pair of buckets from Coilton drew DSU to within three points at 65-62 at the 3:43 mark. Four straight points by Apkan gave the Trojans their first lead since early in the first half at 66-65 with 2:31 remaining.
With the score tied at 67-all with 17 seconds left, Thompson drained a pair of free throws to give BU a two-point margin. Lewis hit 1-of-2 free throws with two seconds remaining, and a putback by Akpan was ruled to be after the buzzer, giving the Bruins the exciting one-point victory.
The Bruins will travel to Dickinson, N.D., on Friday, Jan. 12, for an 8:30 p.m. (CT) league contest at Dickinson State University.
