FOREST CITY, Iowa -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team battled back from a 15-point second-half deficit to pull to within two points late in the contest before falling at Waldorf University, 62-58, Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Hanson Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 9-14 on the season and 4-3 in the NSAA. Waldorf improved to 8-13 overall and 3-4 in league play.
TJ Fritz led the Bruins with 16 points and five rebounds. Jerome Bynum added 10 points and two boards. Christian Carter pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with five points and a pair of assists.
Khyle Washington paced the Warriors with 14 points and six rebounds. Ugo Ejiofor recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Miller was the third Warrior in double figures, finishing with 12 points along with six boards.
The Bruins opened the game on an 8-0 run as four different BU starters scored.
Keyed by a pair of 3-pointers from Justin Wiggins, the Warriors answered with a 14-4 burst to take a 14-12 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
After a layup by Nigel Wilson knotted the game at 14, Waldorf scored eight straight points, including back-to-back buckets from Washington to gain a 22-14 advantage. Fritz scored five points as BU answered with a 7-2 run to draw to within three points at 24-21 at the 4:56 mark.
The Warriors scored the final six points of the half to take a 32-22 lead into the halftime break.
Fritz led the Bruins in the opening half with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. BU hit just 10-of-28 shots in the first period.
Washington (10) and Wiggins (8) combined for 18 points to pace the Waldorf offense in the first half.
A 7-0 Warrior run sparked by a dunk from Ejiofor gave Waldorf a 48-33 lead with 12:14 left in the contest.
The Bruins countered with a 13-3 burst to pull to within five points at 53-48 at the 5:47 mark. It remained a five-point contest following a 3-pointer by Fritz, making it 58-53 with 2:10 remaining.
Bynum nailed three straight free throws to make it a three-point game at 59-56 with 43 seconds left.
After Kaelon Harkema made 1-of-2 free throws, a layup by Bynum cut the lead to two points (60-58) with nine ticks left on the clock.
Miller drained a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining to seal the 62-58 victory.
The Bruins will travel to La Crosse, Wis. tomorrow (Feb. 3) for a 5 p.m. NSAA contest at Viterbo University.
