Bruins survive Haskell, 68-67

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Paced by Shawn Tarver's 21 points, the Bellevue University men's basketball team posted a 68-67 win over Haskell Indian Nations University Tuesday night at Coffin Complex in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

Bellevue, riding a five-game winning streak, improved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the MCAC while the Indians dropped their ninth-straight game and fell to 2-13 and 0-3 in conference play.

Tarver added five rebounds and made 9-of-14 shots in the victory.

The only other Bruin in double figures was Everett Robinson, who scored 12 points.

Joe Thompson led three Indians in double figures, finishing with 19 points, along with four rebounds. Trey Osborne aded 13 points, including three 3-pointers in the final minute.

Tarver scored 12 points in the first half and the Bruins shot 44.4 percent from the field, to take a 38-28 halftime lead. 

The Bruins shot just 26.9 percent in the second half while holding on for the one-point victory. The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the second half with the Bruins never leading by more than 12 points. 

After a Robinson jumper gave BU a 63-51 advantage with 4:46 remaining, Haskell went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes, capped by two-straight 3-pointers from Osborne, to close the gap to one point at 65-64 with 27 seconds left in the contest. 

Three-straight BU free throws, including two by Antoine Pettigrew with eight seconds remaining, helped the Bruins gain a 68-64 lead before Osborne drained his third-straight 3-pointer at the buzzer, to make the final score, 68-67.

The Bruins will open a two-game conference homestand this weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday night (Jan. 18) against No. 25 College of the Ozarks in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Scoring Summary
Bellevue...38 - 30 -- 68
Haskell.....28 - 39 -- 67