Bruins hand No. 8 Ozarks first conference loss
Bellevue, Neb. – The 11th-rated Bellevue University Bruins upended the eighth-ranked College of the Ozarks Bobcats on Saturday evening with a 72-64 win following a solid defensive performance in the first half holding their opponents to 25 percent from the field. Bellevue came out motivated and wasn’t going to let any team stand in their way after a Friday night loss, as they ran up and down the court to blow open a 5-5 tie at the 17:10 mark.
Since 2000-01 Bellevue has amassed a record of 110 wins and 8 losses at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center with their regular season mark against conference opponents improving to 52-3. Bellevue will up their season record to 18-6 overall and third in the MCAC at 5-3 while Ozarks will drop their second game in three tries, going to an identical 18-6 record and atop the conference at 7-1.
Bellevue, holding onto a 17 point lead midway through the second half, watched it slowly evaporate over the final ten minutes as the Bobcats were able to pull to within five points with just over a minute remaining (66-61) in regulation.
The Omaha native, Matt Imig, downed two free throws to push the lead back to seven (68-61) but Corey Stone, the Ozarks leading scored, drained a three-pointer with 30 second left. Bellevue was able to knock down late foul shots following back-to-back treys by Stone in the final seconds to pick up the 8-point win.
These two top-ranked teams played to a 5-5 tie after the first three minutes, but Bellevue quickly erased all doubt over the next five minutes. The home Bruins exploded for eleven points holding their opponents at bay with three taking a 16-8 lead. The Bruins went into halftime on a 21-12 run shooting 46 percent while holding their opponents to 25 percent turning 11 first-half Bobcats turnovers into 14 points.
In the second half, College of the Ozarks made a run, at one time out-scoring Bellevue 19-8 over a stretch, but it wasn’t enough as the Bruins prevailed and came out victorious to win their fifth game against ranked teams.
Bellevue had three players finish with ten or more points in the national bout, Jerrod Tucker, in his third start, scored 15 points, 9 in the second half, on 7-of-13 from the field grabbing 6 rebounds. Kyle Prochaska chipped in 14 points on 6-of-9 pulling down a season-high 17 rebounds for the third time this season. Prochaska also notched his 15th double on the season which places him second in NAIA this season. Ron King hit a pair of three-pointers for 12 points in the contest as Davon White and Matt Imig had 9 and 8 point respectively to round out the Bruin starters.
Off the bench, Martell Nelson had 6 points on a perfect 3-of-3 and 4 rebounds for Bellevue as Ousseynou Diop contributed a three-point play in five minutes.
College of the Ozarks had two players hit the 20-point mark, but it wasn’t enough as the road Bobcats will have their road record fall to 6-5. Corey Stone and Jared Howerton each had 20 points and shot a combined 14-of-45 from the field including 5-of-18 from behind the arc. Colt Blair had 10 points by the games end on 3-of-6 as Tamas Papp had 5 points in reserve.
Bellevue will be on the road for their next two conference games, Central Christian College and Haskell Indian Nations next Friday and Saturday. College of the Ozarks will play a pivotal game against Oklahoma Wesleyan University on February 10, on the road. An Oklahoma Wesleyan victory will put the host site of the MCAC Tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma with an Ozarks win leaving the host site in the hands of the league tie-breaker.