LA CROSSE, Wis. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team battled back from a 16-point second-half deficit to pull to within one point, before falling to the University of Saint Francis (Ill.), 75-72, on Friday evening in the Viterbo University Classic being played at R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Bruins dropped to 2-2 on the season. USF improved to 1-1 overall.
Willie Williams and RJ Smith led the Bruins with 17 points apiece. Williams, who scored all of his points in the second half, was 9-of-12 from the charity stripe while adding five rebounds and four assists. Caleb Chiang added 16 points, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from long distance.
Merrick Small paced the Saints with 17 points and three boards. Aitor Anabitarte added 16 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
The Bruins hit just one of their first five shots as USF gained an early 11-5 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. The Saints expanded the margin to nine points at 18-9 following four straight points by Shir Moraidi.
Sparked by eight-straight points from Chiang, BU battled back with a 10-0 run to take a 21-20 lead at the 7:46 mark of the first half. The two teams traded points over the next four minutes until the Saints used an 8-0 run to to gain a 35-28 advantage. BU scored the final four points of the half to slice the deficit to three points at 35-32 at the intermission.
Chiang led BU in the opening half with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Shooting 5-of-6 from the field, Small paced the Saints in the first half with 12 points.
After Bellevue regained the lead early in the second half, scoring the first four points, USF went on a 20-2 run to gain a 58-42 advantage at the 8:45 mark.
Highlighted by seven points from Williams, the Bruins countered with a 9-2 spurt to pull to within single digits at 60-51 with 6:34 remaining in the contest. Williams started a 5-0 Bruin run to make it a six-point contest at 65-59 at the 3:54 mark. A 3-point play by Williams ignited another five-point BU run to make it 67-64 with 2:12 remaining.
After each team traded a pair of free throws, a bucket by Niego made it a five-point contest. Williams hit 1-of-2 free throws at the one-minute mark and Smith nailed a jumper in the paint to make it 71-69 with nine seconds remaining. After Sean Richardson drained two free throws to make it a four-point game, Williams' 3-point play made it 73-72 with five seconds left. Richardson nailed two more free shots to seal the 75-72 USF victory.
Bellevue closes out play in the Viterbo University Classic tomorrow (Nov. 16) at 1 p.m. against host and former NSAA member Viterbo.
