Araujo leads Bruins to 20-point win over OCC

Box Score

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Senior Paulo Araujo scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 91-71 victory over Ozark Christian College Friday night in the Bellevue Classic being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

With the win, the Bruins improved to 3-2 on the season. The Ambassadors fell to 1-1 overall. 

Araujo drained 9-of-11 shots from the field, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Raphael Allen and Keenami Maggard chipped in with 14 points apiece. Christian Carter was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 11 points along with five boards. 

Vinny Belcaster dished out nine assists in the victory. 

Danny Foster led OCC with 18 points and four rebounds. Tyler Alarid added 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and a pair of steals. Josiah Beckenhauer tallied 15 points and three rebounds. 

Bellevue registered a season-high 61.8 field-goal percentage, drilling 34-of-55 shots from the field. The Bruins also hit a season-high 14 shots from long range. 

A 3-pointer by Araujo gave the Bruins their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 15 minutes left in the first half, and BU never looked back after that. 

A free throw by Barrett Harms gave BU its largest lead of the first half at 38-20 with 4:38 remaining in the opening frame. A layup by Maggard made it 44-28 at the break. 

The Ambassadors never got closer than 13 points the remainder of the contest as BU cruised to the 91-71 victory.  

The Bruins will conclude the tournament on Saturday with a 4 p.m. contest against Midland University.