Bruins reach NSAA Championship Game with OT win

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Nick Hilton scored 21 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime to lead the No. 25 Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 69-62 overtime victory over Dakota State University in a North Star Athletic Association semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

BU scored the first five points of overtime and never trailed in the extra period. Hilton scored BU's first eight points of overtime which included a pair of three-pointers and free throws as Bellevue built a 62-56 lead with 2:25 to play.

Four straight free throws from DSU pulled the Trojans to within four, 64-60, with 37 seconds to play but Bellevue sank 5-of-6 free throws in the final 24 seconds, including four straight from Mike Cardenas to secure the seven-point victory.

With the victory top-seeded Bellevue (21-10) advances to Monday night's championship game against second-seeded Dickinson State who defeated Jamestown 83-65 on Saturday.

Bellevue will be making their first NSAA Tournament Championship Game appearance after appearing in 18 title games in the former MCAC. BU won 12 MCAC Tournament Championships. The title game appearance will be the first for Dickinson State as well, who joined the league just one year before the Bruins.

Dakota State concludes their season with an overall record of 16-16.

The first half saw both teams' offenses come away frustrated as the Bruins and Trojans combined to shoot just 33.3 percent and turn the ball over 11 times.

Dakota State started off the better of the two sides, jumping out to a 10-4 lead at the 16:08 mark when Tanner Heiser hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The tide turned Bellevue purple on a Mike Cardenas three with 11:29 to play, followed by a defensive stop at the other end, and a technical foul against DSU's Kevin Daniels which saw Bellevue grab a 13-10 lead.

BU used a 9-1 run over 4:17 to grab their biggest lead of the first half, 28-18, with just 31 seconds to play. A Nathaniel Rauen layup meant Bellevue would take a 28-20 lead into the intermission.

After three-pointers on back-to-back possessions early in the second half pushed the Bruin lead to 34-20, it looked like BU may have delivered a knockout punch.

However, with 18 minutes to play, Dakota State stayed the course and slowly chipped away at the BU lead. Trailing 50-46, Ian Barse sank a trifecta at the 4:37 mark to pull the Trojans within just a single point. After trading baskets, Heiser hit a step-back three to give Dakota State their first lead since early in the contest.

Bellevue responded at the other end when Blake Wilder cut to the basket and took the Jalen Hall feed for a layup to tie the game at 54-54 with 1:08 showing on the clock.

Jaffrey Stillman saw his layup rim out with 22 seconds to play, setting up Dakota State for a final shot but Heiser's foul line jumper – following an in-air adjustment – hit off the far side of the rim and Wilder grabbed the carom.

Both Cardenas and Stillman narrowly missed double-doubles for Bellevue as Cardenas finished with 12 points and nine rebounds while Stillman ended with nine points and a game-high 12 boards. Wilder joined Cardenas and Hilton in double figures with 11 points of his own on 5-of-7 shooting.

Heiser paced Dakota State with 22 points while Justin Folkers added 13 and Barse chipped in 10. Kilgore – one of the top players in the league – finished with eight points and 10 rebounds but was frustrated into just a 2-of-8 effort from the field by a swarming Bellevue defense.

Hall made Heiser work for everything he got on the defensive end and finished the game with six points and four assists before fouling out in overtime.

Bellevue out-shot Dakota State 42.6 percent (23-of-54) to 32.8 percent (20-of-61) and controlled the glass, out-rebounding their guests by a 47-34 margin. DSU stayed in the game by forcing 14 BU turnovers – compared to just six of their own – which they turned into a 10-7 advantage at the other end.

The winner of Monday's NSAA Championship Game earns an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament on Mar. 8-14 at the College of the Ozarks' Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.

NSAA Tournament Quarterfinal Results:

• #1 Bellevue def. #8 Presentation, 92-68
• #5 Dakota State def. #4 Viterbo, 56-52
• #3 Jamestown def. #6 Valley City, 95-87
• #2 Dickinson State def. #7 Waldorf, 73-67

NSAA Tournament Semi-Final Results:

• #1 Bellevue def. #5 Dakota State, 69-62 (ot)
• #2 Dickinson State def. #3 Jamestown, 83-65

NSAA Tournament Championship Game:

• #2 Dickinson State @ #1 Bellevue, Monday