BELLEVUE, Neb. -- A layup by Taine Mitchell with 1.2 seconds left in the contest helped visiting Dakota State University escape with a 64-62 win over Bellevue University in North Star Athletic Association men's basketball action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The game featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 12-12 on the season and 4-7 in the NSAA. DSU improved to 11-12 overall and 4-7 in league play.
RJ Smith led the Bruins with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Emarr Vinson added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Caleb Chiang and Christian Carter finished with nine points apiece.
Brayden Pankonen paced the Trojans with 12 points. He was 3-of-4 from long range. Mitchell and Rysley Borman finished with nine points apiece and Coby Dillenbeck chipped in with eight points and a pair of rebounds.
Carter scored five straight points to help BU build a 19-13 advantage nine minutes into the contest. A 10-2 DSU run gave the Trojans their first lead of the game at 25-23 with 5:51 left in the first half. Neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the half as BU took a slim 37-35 lead into the intermission.
Smith led BU in the first half with 12 points and three rebounds. Vinson added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
Pankonen paced the Trojans in the first half with eight points, going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The Bruins used a 7-0 run to expand the margin to nine points at 45-36 four minutes into the second half. Sparked by four points from Colby Dillenbeck, the Trojans countered with a 14-4 surge to take a 50-49 lead with 8:09 left in the contest.
After three consecutive points from Vinson gave the Bruins a two-point edge, DSU scored seven straight, capped by a triple from Pankonen, to take a 57-52 lead with 4:10 remaining.
A 3-point play by Raphael Allen and an alley-oop dunk by Nigel Wilson tied the contest at 60-all at the 1:04 mark. After a layup by Dillenbeck, Vinson answered with a short jumper to keep the game tied (62-62) with 21 seconds remaining.
Mitchell's layup with 1.2 seconds left gave DSU a 64-62 lead. After a BU timeout, the Bruins could not get a shot off as time expired.
The Bruins will host Valley City State University at 7:30 next Friday, Feb. 14, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Bellevue University Fieldhouse. Admission is FREE as the Bruins open up play in BU's new arena.
