Bruins runs past Peru State, 85-57

Bellevue, Neb. – The 19th-rated Bellevue University Bruins recorded their ninth straight 20-win season following their victory over conference opponent Peru State College, 85-57, on Tuesday night. The Bruins started slow but finished running away in the final half winning by 28 improving to 20-7 and 7-4 in the conference. Peru State College will drop their 16th straight contest and fall to 1-28 overall and winless in the league, 0-11.

Peru State opened the game and caught Bellevue off guard as they took a seven point lead by the 14:23 mark following an 11-3 run capped off by a Steven Burks (Norfolf, NE) lay-up. Not to be out-done on their home court, 8-2 this season, Bellevue came back with a run themselves making it a 14-poing swing. With five minutes left to go in the first half, Bellevue got a three-pointer from Jace Fredenburg (Bellevue, NE) that pushed the Bellevue lead to seven (24-17) outscoring the Bobcats 20-6 in ten minutes.

The first half closed with the host Bruins on top by ten, 35-25. Bellevue scored 20 points in the paint compared to 6 of the road Bobcats scoring 12 fast break points.

Coming out of intermission, Bellevue’s defense was relentless as they forced five turnovers in the first seven minutes and contested seven missed opportunities for their opponents. Peru State stopped the bleeding with 13:24 left in regulation getting a free throw from Quincy Williams (St. Louis, MO) making the score 54-30.

The lead lingered around the mid-twenties for the Bruins as they topped a game-high 30-point lead with 2:13 on the clock after an Ousseynou Diop (Dakar, Senegal) basket. Bellevue would surrender one final jumper by Ryheen Drakeford in the closing minutes to take home the victory.

Bellevue would shoot 59 percent in the first half holding Peru State College to 38 percent including a stretch of ten minutes where the Bobcats were 3-of-9 from the field. The Bruins recorded 21 assists and picked up 10 steals while forcing 15 turnovers defensively.

In an unselfish game for the Bruins, two players finished in double-digits while 11 of 12 players got into the box score. Jace Fredenburg, for the third straight game, made four 3’s for a team-high 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Jerrod Tucker had 15 points on 6-of-11, a majority of those in the paint, adding 5-of-5 at the foul stripe.

Ron King added 9 points in the victory as Martell Nelson and Jelani Johnson chipped in 8 points each on a combined 8-of-12 from the field. Kyle Prochaska and Davon White had 7 points each in the start as Ousseynou Diop contributed 6 points off the bench. The Bruins shot 58 percent for the game, 46 percent from three point range and dropped 9-of-11 free throws for 82 percent.

Peru State College got a game-high 20 points from Steven Burks (Kansas City, MO) on 8-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Burks finished with a game-high 5 turnovers adding 6 rebounds. Matt Ryan made three 3-pointers and added 14 points in the contest as Quincy Williams had 7. Ryheen Drakeford played 26 minutes grabbing 6 rebounds, tying a game-high as Adam Blaylock and Joe Gomez finished with 3 assists each. The traveling Bobcats shot better in the second half (44%) but ended the game at 41 percent (23-of-56).

Bellevue has two more contests to close out the 2008-09 season this weekend. On Friday (Feb. 20) the Bruins will welcome NAIA DI Park University to the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center at 7 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 21) will be senior recognition night against York College, tip-off at 5 p.m.