BU pulls away to beat Trojans in Frontier opener

Box Score
Frontier Standings

BELLEVUE, Neb. — Bellevue University used a decisive second-half surge and a season-high 25 points from Ahamad Bynum to defeat Dakota State University 78–72 on Saturday night in the Frontier Conference opener for both teams at the BU Fieldhouse.

BU (6–0, 1–0 Frontier) erased a two-point halftime deficit and outscored DSU 43–35 after the break behind a balanced offensive attack and timely perimeter shooting. Dakota State (4–1, 0–1 Frontier), led by Desman Botts' 22 points, held its final lead at 53–52 with 13:01 remaining before the Bruins took control.

The first half featured 14 ties and 16 lead changes, with neither side gaining separation. BU briefly went ahead 35–33 on a Bynum jumper with 2:20 left, but the Trojans closed with the final basket for a 37–35 halftime lead.

Still tied 50–50 with 13:15 remaining, the Bruins mounted the game-defining response. Jaden Phillips converted inside to put BU ahead, and Jermaine Haliburton followed with back-to-back threes to stretch the margin to 61–53. Montgomery and Bynum added free throws before Bynum drilled a pull-up jumper, and Mathok Mathok scored off a feed from Montgomery to push the lead to 67–55, Bellevue's largest of the night, with 7:42 left.

Dakota State made a late push, trimming the deficit to 67–61 at the 5:48 mark, but Bynum buried his fifth triple and Phillips scored twice inside to keep the Bruins comfortably in front. RJ Smith's layup with 1:59 remaining extended the advantage to 77–66, and Montgomery's free throw with 14 seconds left sealed the victory.

Top Performers

Bellevue

Ahamad Bynum — 25 pts (season-high), 5 threes, 4 ast, 4 reb

Jaden Phillips — 15 pts, 5 reb

Jermaine Haliburton — 10 pts, 2–2 from three

Mathok Mathok — 8 pts (4–5 FG)

Liam Thompson — 6 pts, team-high 6 reb, 2 ast, key block

Dakota State

Desman Botts — 22 pts, 8 reb

Lukas Morgan — 16 pts, 6 reb

Nathan Ojukwu — 15 pts, 5 reb

Inside The Numbers

BU shot 50% from the field and 45.5% from three, hitting 10 triples.

DSU held a 34–30 rebounding edge and outscored BU 40–28 in the paint.

Bellevue forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 20 points, compared to DSU's 13 points off 11 turnovers.

The Bruins' bench contributed 24 points, highlighted by Haliburton, Mathok, and Jal.

The game featured 14 ties and 16 lead changes, most coming before BU's second-half run.

Up Next

Bellevue hosts Montana State University–Northern on Friday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. inside the BU Fieldhouse.