MAYVILLE, N.D. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team nearly erased a 19-point halftime deficit, pulling within two late in the second half before falling 81-71 to Mayville State University in North Star Athletic Association action Saturday night at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 12-11 overall and 4-6 in conference play, while the Comets improved to 14-9 on the season and 5-5 in league action.
Willie Williams led the Bruins with 17 points, three rebounds, and two steals. TJ Fritz added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from long range. Raphael Allen finished with eight points and four boards.
JJ White paced the Comets with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, along with three rebounds. Stevan Garza added 15 points aided by a 7-of-11 performance from the charity stripe. Justin Fisher chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds.
Mayville State came out of the gates quickly, with all five starters scoring in the opening minutes as the Comets jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead. Back-to-back jumpers by Tim Oldham extended the advantage to 24-12 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
A 3-pointer by White pushed MSU's lead to 15 at 29-14 before the Bruins responded with a 7-0 spurt, sparked by five straight points from JJ Montgomery, closing the gap to 29-21 at the 7:31 mark. However, MSU answered with a 20-9 run to close the half, heading into intermission with a commanding 49-30 lead.
Williams led the Bruins at the break with nine points and two rebounds, while White paced the Comets with 13 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting.
After the teams traded five-point bursts to start the second half, Bellevue made its move. Two 3-pointers from Allen ignited a 15-2 surge, cutting the deficit to just six (56-50) with 12:32 remaining. The Bruins continued to chip away, getting within five points on three occasions before consecutive 3-pointers from Fritz and Christian Carter pulled BU within two (71-69) with just 2:41 left to play.
The Comets responded in the clutch. Garza scored five straight points, sparking an 8-0 closing run that included six free throws in the final 1:40 to seal the win.
The Bruins return home next Friday, Feb. 7, when they host Dakota State University at 7:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
