Defense keys Bruins late rally extending win streak

JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Trailing for much of the second half, the Bellevue University men's basketball team closed the game on an 8-0 run to pick up a 74-73 victory over the University of Jamestown on Sunday afternoon in a North Star Athletic Association game.

Bellevue trailed by four points, 73-67 with 4:19 to play, but held Jamestown scoreless for the remainder of the game, scoring the game's final seven points to secure the victory.

Following a missed three-pointer from Jake Hagler with 20 seconds to play, Jaffrey Stillman scored with just 14 seconds on the clock to give Bellevue their first lead since the first half. Jacob Havron missed a pair of free throws with 1 second left for Jamestown that allowed BU to earn their fifth-straight conference win.

The win was Bellevue's season-best seventh in a row and saw them improve to 13-7 on the year, upping their record in NSAA games to 5-2 to take sole possession of first place in the conference standings. Jamestown, losers of four-straight, falls to 8-11 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

After a 12-2 run to open the game's first 3:37, the first half was tight as Jamestown clawed back to tie the game at 32-all with 1:51 left in the period. By the time the horn sounded for intermission Jamestown had built a 38-34 advantage over the visiting Bruins, aided by a 14-2 run over 3:00 to close the first half.

Jamestown led by as many as 13 points (69-56) with 7:15 to play in the second half following a basket from Hagler. But as they've done multiple times during their win streak, the Bruin defense clamped down when it mattered most. BU out-scored the Jimmies 18-4 to close the game and smothered UJ as Jamestown hit on just one of their final nine field goal attempts.

Hagler poured in a game-high 26 points for the Jimmies who received 13 points from Kiwane Crowder and 10 more from Jon Purintun. Riley Henderson added seven points and a game-best 10 rebounds for UJ.

Bellevue remained balanced offensively with three players – Stillman (19), BJ Shelton (11), and Blake Wilder (11) – all scoring in double figures while four others – Mike Cardenas (9), Nick Hilton (8), Terrance Wienecke (6), and Jalen Hall (6) – added six or more. Additionally, Stillman pulled down a team-best nine rebounds for the Bruins who out-gained Jamestown on the glass, 45-39.

Both teams struggled offensively with BU hitting on just 40.3 percent (25-of-62) of their field goal attempts and Jamestown hitting on just 38.5 percent (25-of-65).

BU took advantage of 10 more trips to the free throw line where they hit on 19-of-29 attempts to Jamestown's 15-of-19 effort from the charity stripe.

Bellevue returns home on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they host Dakota State University at 5 p.m. in the second game of a BU basketball double-header. The women will play the Trojans at 3 p.m., with the men tipping off approximately 20 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game.