Bellevue faces first MCAC road games this week
January 20, 2011

Bellevue faces first MCAC road games this week

Weekly Release
2010-11 Men's Basketball Statistics

This Week
The eighth-ranked Bellevue University men’s basketball team returns to action this week with a pair of conference road games. The Bruins will travel to York, Neb. on Friday, Jan. 21 to battle York College at 7:30 p.m. before playing against Central Christian College on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. with the Tigers in McPherson, Kan. at the Ed Pyle Sports Complex.

Bellevue vs Opponents 
The Bruins have won 11 of the last 12 games versus York and 24 of the last 27 games. The last time YC beat BU was a one-point overtime victory, 70-69, on Feb. 24, 2006.

The Bruins have never lost to Central Christian College in 18 games played dating back to 2001.

Scouting Bellevue
Bellevue, winners of eight of its last nine games is ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches’ Poll, and have a 15-3 overall record and are 2-0 in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Bruins are coming off of a 70-51 win against conference foe No. 18 ranked College of the Ozarks Jan. 15 in Bellevue. 

Eugene Bain leads BU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with seven double-doubles and is third in the MCAC with a 56.4 field goal percentage. Also averaging in double figures is All-American Avery Tyler (10.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 3.3 apg). Jelani Johnson averages 9.8 ppg and leads the team with 64 assists and 27 steals. Ousseynou Diop adds 8.2 ppg and 7.1 rpg and leads the team with 64 blocked shots which ranks second in NAIA Division II. Jeremy Cruise leads the squad with 34 made three-pointers.
 
BU scores 79.6 points per game and shoot a conference-best 47.4 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. The Bruins hold opponents to a conference-low 64.9 points per game and are second in field goal defense, limiting the opposition to just 39.1 percent shooting.

The Bruins return three letterwinners and two starters from last season’s 28-8 squad that captured the MCAC regular season and tournament titles, while advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament.

Scouting York
York is currently 8-9 overall and 1-2 in league play and are coming off of a 68-65 win at Southwestern Christian University on Jan. 15. The Panthers are led offensively by Corey Standerfer, who is third in the MCAC in scoring, averaging 19.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Also averaging in double figures are Dedrick Dews (13.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Desmond Strickland (10.1 ppg). Dee Ellison leads the team with 59 assists and 31 steals.

YC averages 80.3 ppg on 43.6 percent shooting and 31 percent from three-point range. The Panthers are last in the MCAC in scoring defense, giving up 82.7 ppg, and also in field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot 48.4 percent overall from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc.

Scouting Central Christian
Central Christian has an overall mark 13-3 and 2-1 in conference action. The Tigers have won 10 of their last 11 games and are coming off of an 80-71 non-conference win versus Johnson and Wales University on Jan. 17. CCC has five players scoring in double figures and are led by Don Gavin, who averages 17.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 2.9 apg. Gavin also shoots 51.6 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point range. Also scoring in double figures include Christopher Jones (17.1 ppg, 9.7 rpg), Sean Posey (14.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg), Randall Conley (12.1 ppg) and Kaelon Gary (11.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.3 apg)  

CCC is second in the MCAC in scoring, averaging 85.9 ppg while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, which also ranks second in the conference. The Tigers shoot 34.6 from three-point range and 62.8 from the free-throw line. CCC hold opponents to 71.3 ppg on a conference-low 38.5 percent shooting.     

Meet the Coaches
In his first two seasons at the helm of the Bellevue University men’s basketball program, Shane Paben has guided the Bruins to two consecutive trips to the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, including a semifinal finish in 2010 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2009. He has a career mark of 67-20 (.770) at BU. He is assisted by Bob Ludwig, Jason Isaacson and Micah Stancil. 

York is led by first-year head coach Delton Deal who has been the Panthers head assistant coach the previous two seasons. Deal is assisted by Jeff Mills, Justin Ward and  Landon Bailey.

 Tony Romero is in his second year as head coach and seventh season overall on the Central Christian bench. He was an assistant coach the previous five seasons before taking over in the 2009-10 campaign where he led the Tigers to a 21-11 record, the most wins in a season in more than 25 years at CCC. Romero’s assistants include Louis Collins, Melvin Sanders and Todd Spehr.

National Rankings
Bellevue University moved up one spot, to No. 8, in the latest NAIA Men’s Basketball Division II Coaches’ Poll, released on Monday, Jan. 17. Two other MCAC foes are also ranked in the coaches’ poll, Oklahoma Wesleyan University is second while College of the Ozarks is No. 19.

Block Party
Ousseynou Diop has blocked 64 shots this season which ranks second in NAIA Division II. He has totaled three or more blocks in  seven of his last eight seven games and set a career-high with eight blocks versus Harris-Stowe on Nov. 12. In his first two seasons, he has led the conference in blocked shots. For his career, Diop has swatted 166 shots.

Doubling Up
The frontcourt duo of Eugene Bain and Ousseynou Diop have accounted for all nine of the Bruins’ double-doubles this season. Bain has registered seven, including a 23-point and 11-rebound performance versus Cumberland University on Jan. 3. Diop has notched two double-doubles, in back-to-back games, at Midland University (Nov. 11) and versus Harris-Stowe (Nov. 12).

Up Next
The Bruins will return home next week with three MCAC contests. BU opens the week on Tuesday, Jan. 25 against in-state conference foe Peru State College at 7:00 p.m. before the Bruins host second-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Friday, Jan 28 at 7:30 p.m. The game against OWU will also include a live broadcast by Victory Sports Network. Bellevue concludes the week by welcoming Southwestern Christian University to the Gordon Lozier Athletic on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. with the Eagles.