Bruins start fast en route to North Star triumph

ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Four players scored in double-figures and Carl Robinson returned from injury to post an outstanding all-around game as the 13^th-ranked Bellevue University basketball team ran their North Star record to 3-1 with a convincing 99-87 victory over Presentation College on Friday evening.

Mike Cardenas paced Bellevue with 15 points while TeShon Burton (14), Nicolus Guzman (13), and Bobby Fisher (12) each reached double-digits on the evening. After missing a game to recover from a minor injury, Robinson had a terrific evening scoring eight points without missing a free throw while hauling down a team-best eight rebounds and dishing out a game-high eight assists.

Presentation got strong individual performances from Louis Cox, Tre Erby, and Donnell Minton as each topped the 20-point mark on the evening. Cox poured in a game-high 25 points while Minton and Erby each chipped in with 23 for the Saints.

BU scored the game's first four points and never looked back, building a 10-point lead by the 14:11 mark of the first half, following on of Cardenas' game-high four three-pointers. The Bruins took an identical 10-point margin into halftime with the score 48-38 in favor of the guests.

Presentation cut the Bruin lead to seven at the 17:30 mark with a trey from Erby which made the score 54-47. That's as close as the Saints would get as Bellevue knocked down their free throws (9-10 in the game's final minute) to seal the victory.

The game was an offensive showcase for both sides as Bellevue seemed unable to miss, connecting on just under 54 percent of their field goal attempts as a team, while the Saints hit on a very respectable 44.6 percent of their field goal tries in the game.

Bellevue had another good game from deep, improving to 8-1 when hitting at least 10 three-point field goals as a team and 6-1 when shooting at least 40 percent from deep.

BU spread the scoring around well while assisting on 22 of their 34 made field goals. In addition to the four double-figure scorers Bellevue saw Olutola Olushola and Chris Burton score nine points each while Marquis Aaron added six and Phillip Cherry and Eric Quall scored five apiece.

Bellevue (11-5 | 3-1 North Star) get 11 days to recover before their next contest. The Bruins host Indiana-East at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29 in their first game of the 2015 Hampton Inn Holiday Classic.