February 25, 2020

Wiltz, Dukes lead BU to NSAA 1st Round win over Saints

Jaylen Wiltz and Connor Dukes combined for 39 points to lead the top-seeded Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 62-53 victory over No. 8-seed Presentation College on Tuesday night in opening round action of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Jaylen Wiltz and Connor Dukes combined for 39 points to lead the top-seeded Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 62-53 victory over No. 8-seed Presentation College on Tuesday night in opening round action of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

With the win, the Bruins (24-7) advanced to the NSAA Tournament Semifinals in Watertown, S.D. Bellevue will battle the No. 5 seed Waldorf University in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29 in the Watertown Civic Arena. Waldorf upset No. 4 Dickinson State, 82-79, Tuesday night in Dickinson, N.D.

The championship game is slated for 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 1 in Watertown.

Presentation ended its season with a 3-27 overall record.

Wiltz, who scored 17 second-half points, finished with a game-high 21 points along with a pair of rebounds. Dukes drained four 3-pointers, finishing with 18 points and five boards. Lewis Hayes was the third Bruin in double figures after registering 10 points.

Despite being held to a season-low three points, Jemeil King finished with a season-high 11 assists, along with eight rebounds and three steals.

Jackson Becker led three Saints in double figures, narrowly missing a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Elijah Coleman and Ange-Michael Kuo each finished with 13 points.

After the Saints raced out to an early 7-0 lead, Dukes nailed three 3-pointers to spark a 12-2 BU run as the Bruins took a 12-9 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. An emphatic dunk by Isaiah Bates gave BU its largest lead of the first half at four points (25-21) at the five-minute mark.

After the Saints tied the game at 27 on a layup by Kuo, the Bruins scored the final five points of the period capped by a triple by Dukes at the buzzer as BU took a 32-27 lead into the intermission.

Dukes led BU in the first half with 14 points on four 3-pointers, along with a pair of rebounds.

Coleman and Kuo paced the Saints with eight points apiece in the opening 20 minutes.

The Bruins led by as many as eight points on four separate occasions early in the second half, before four-straight points by Wiltz gave BU its first double-digit lead of the contest at 51-39 with 8:48 left in the game.

The Saints responded with seven-straight points to cut the deficit to five points (51-46) at the 4:34 mark. BU countered with six-consecutive points sparked by a nifty reverse layup by Dukes to give BU a 57-46 lead with 2:51 remaining.

A steal and a 3-pointer by Nate Seyoum sparked a 7-2 PC spurt as the Saints made it a two-possession game at 59-53 with 1:50 left in regulation.

A huge 3-pointer by Wiltz put a dagger into the Saints hopes, giving BU a 62-53 lead and the eventual nine-point victory.

The winner of the NSAA Tournament advances to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 11-17.