BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The hot-shooting Bellevue University men's basketball team, led by TJ Fritz, cruised to a 105-66 victory over visiting Valley City State University Saturday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The 39-point margin was the largest for the Bruins over an NSAA team since joining the conference in 2015.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 7-5 on the season and 1-1 in the NSAA. VCSU fell to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Bellevue shot 67.9 percent from the field and tied a season-high with 15 3-pointers en route to scoring 100 points for the second time this season.
Fritz scored 26 points, all in the first half, going 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. He added three assists, two steals, and two rebounds in the victory. JJ Montgomery registered 17 points, draining 5-of-8 from long range. Emarr Vinson finished with a season-high 15 points, going 6-of-7 from the field.
RJ Smith was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 11 points along with six boards.
Lamar Grayson paced the Vikings with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Ladarious Stanfield added 14 points and three rebounds.
The Bruins hit 10 of their first 11 shots, including 7-of-8 from long range, and five early 3-pointers by Fritz helped the Bruins establish a 20-6 lead in the opening five minutes of the contest. Triples by Montgomery and Caleb Chiang helped extend the lead to 17 points at 25-8 with 13 minutes left in the opening half. After a dunk by Nigel Wilson gave BU a 19-point edge, VCSU battled back to within 15 points with a four-point run. Bellevue countered with three straight 3-pointers, including Fritz's sixth of the half, to expand the BU advantage to 24 points at 44-20 at the five-minute mark.
Fritz's seventh triple of the first half helped BU sustain a 59-31 lead heading into the intermission.
The Bruins shot a blistering 78.6 percent from the field in the first half, including an 11-of-16 showing from long-range. Fritz scored 26 first-half points, going 7-of-10 from beyond the arc and draining all three of his free throw attempts.
A 23-7 BU run, capped by a 3-pointer from Raphael Allen, pushed the margin to 46 points at 90-44 with nine minutes left in the game before BU cruised to the 105-66 victory.
The Bruins will host Waldorf University on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 6 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
