Hayes' huge night fuels BU win at Dickinson

DICKINSON, N.D. -- Lewis Hayes scored a season-high 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 78-75 North Star Athletic Association victory over Dickinson State University on Friday evening at Scott Gymnasium.

Records:

Bellevue: 12-6 (2-0 NSAA)
Dickinson State: 3-11 (1-1 NSAA)

Recap: Bellevue 78, Dickinson State 75

After trading field goals in the opening four minutes, Dickinson used a 6-0 spurt in just over 90 seconds to grab an early 10-4 lead.

Bellevue cut the deficit to just a point, 13-12, on a three-pointer from Niamey Harris before the Blue Hawks rattled off seven-straight points ahead of the first half media timeout.

Out of the break, BU scored seven-straight points of their own to pull within a point again. Dickinson State stretched their lead back to as many as six points twice more in the first half but a three-pointer from Jaylen Wiltz saw Bellevue cut it to one-possession game, 36-33, entering the half.

After Dickinson hit on their first field goal attempt of the second half, the Bruins rattled off a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 42-40 on a bucket from Lewis Hayes.

With the game tied at 64-all, Hayes threw down an emphatic one-handed dunk to put the Bruins ahead for good with 6:28 to play. That prompted a 7-0 run which was capped off by a three-pointer from Connor Dukes at the 4:45 mark.

The Blue Hawks closed the deficit to just two points, 77-75, on a basket by Jalon Tinnin with 1:42 to play. After Tinnin stripped Hayes to win back possession the host side used a timeout.

Kenny Jackson missed a long-range three-point attempt but Bellevue was whistled for a foul on Tinnin while the ball was in the air. At the stripe, Tinnin missed both attempts but Jesse Burns collected the offensive rebound. The Blue Hawks got two addition looks from deep but were unable to connect as Bellevue gained possession when Donte Walker's attempt caromed out of bounds.

Jemeil King hit on one of two free throws with 3.1 seconds to play and Jackson's running heave came after the final buzzer sounded as the Bruins picked up their seventh win in their last eight games.

Bellevue remained unbeaten in road games, improving to 4-0 on the year.

The Bruins connected at an efficient 69.2 percent clip in the second half, including a 16-20 (80%) effort inside the arc as they overcame a woeful 8-of-17 (47.1%) effort at the free throw line in the game.

Hayes finished with a game-high 26 points while adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Bellevue while Jemeil King added 17 points and five boards.

Five other Bruins totaled at least five points on the night with Wiltz scoring nine, Isaiah Bates and Harris each adding seven, Connor Dukes dropping six, and Jaron Dickson tossing in five.

Malcohm Hill led four DiSU players in double figures as he notched a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Kenny Jackson totaled 14 points with Donte Walker adding 12 and Travon Hamilton chipping in 10, respectively.

Up Next:

Bellevue is back in action tomorrow evening with a 5 p.m. NSAA tilt at Valley City State University (4-11 | 1-1 NSAA).