Tarver leads BU past Central Baptist, 57-43

MCAC Standings

CONWAY, Ark. -- Senior Shawn Tarver recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 57-43 victory in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action Friday night at Reddin Fieldhouse. 

The Bruins improved to 16-8 on the season and 7-3 in the MCAC. Central Baptist fell to 3-18 overall and remained winless at 0-10 in league play. 

Jamil Goodwin narrowly missed his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Blake Zamudio connected on three 3-pointers, while chipping in nine points along with four rebounds. 

Xavier Lindsey was the lone Mustang in double figures, registering 10 points. Carl Corman tallied eight points and eight rebounds. 

Despite shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the first half, the Bruins managed a 29-20 halftime advantage, paced by Tarver's 16 points and six rebounds. Bellevue forced 11 Mustang turnovers in the first period, maintaining a 12-4 margin in points off turnovers. 

The Bruins expanded the lead to 20 points (48-28) with a 19-8 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half. 

Central Baptist closed to within 15 points at the six-minute mark before BU used a 7-1 spurt to take a 57-36 lead with 3:48 remaining. The Mustangs scored the game's final seven points to make the final, 57-43. 

The Bruins held a 39-30 advantage in rebounds in the game and the 43 points were the fewest points allowed by BU this season. 

The Bruins will travel to Bethany, Okla. on Saturday (Feb. 2) for a 5 p.m. MCAC contest at Southwestern Christian University. 

Scoring Summary

Bellevue.............29 28 - 57
Central Baptist...20 23 - 43

BU: Tarver, 20; Goodwin, 13; Zamudio, 9; Bernardo, 6; Dotson, 4; Robinson, 2; Grant, 2; Pettigrew, 1.
CB: Lindsey, 10; Chatters, 9; Corman, 8; Huskey, 6; Hanney, 4; Stevenson, 3; Anderson, 2; Liddell, 1.