Bruins rebound with 81-77 win over #15 Carroll

HELENA, Mont. -- Ahamad Bynum and Jaden Phillips combined for 42 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 81-77 Frontier Conference victory over No. 15-ranked Carroll College on Saturday evening.

With the victory, Bellevue moves back into a tie atop the Frontier Conference standings at 13-2 overall and 8-1 in league play. Carroll held sole possession of first for just 24 hours as they fell to 10-4 on the year and 8-1 in the Frontier Conference.

How It Happened:

BU raced out to an early 8-0 lead without allowing Carroll a field goal for the first 4:16. Ahamad Bynum and Jaden Phillips totaled seven points apiece as the Bruins led 14-3 just 3:56 into the game which prompted the Fighting Saints to take a timeout.

Carroll found some offensive rhythm, taking the lead for the first time, 26-25, on a 15-footer from Drew Jones with 4:34 to play. The game went back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with the host side taking a 34-30 lead into the halftime break.

Bynum led the Bruins with nine points in the first half while Phillips provided eight and Mathok Mathok added seven. Isaac Round paced Carroll with nine first half points with eight other Fighting Saints finding their way into the scoring column.

After a hot 6-7 start from the floor, Bellevue hit on just 6-22 field goals over the final 16 minutes of the half and failing to score over the final 3:51 while Carroll shot 50% during those final 16+ minutes and ended the period on a 6-0 scoring run.

Both teams traded barbs early in the second half with Carroll yo-yoing their lead from four to six points for the first five minutes. Bynum hit a contested three to kick-start an 15-2 Bruin scoring run in which he poured in seven to give BU a 54-47 lead following a pair of free throws from Jermaine Haliburton at the 11:02 mark.

The Bruins grew their lead to as many as nine points as Phillips hit six-straight free throws at one point but Carroll responded with a 9-2 scoring run to pull within two on a three-pointer from Isaiah Crane with 5:45 to play.

Leading by five with 1:29 to play, JJ Montgomery buried a three-pointer from the right wing to push the Bruin lead to 76-68. Crane answered with a three at the other end and the Fighting Saints called a timeout with 1:08 left to set their defense.

Montgomery hit 3-4 free throws in the final minute to help seal the victory.

Top Performers:

Bellevue

Ahamad Bynum – 22 points (9-19 FG), 4-11 3-FG, 3 rebounds
Jaden Phillips – 20 points (5-7 FG), 9-10 FT, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Mathok Mathok – 11 points (5-7 FG), 4 rebounds
RJ Smith – 8 points (4-5 FG), 8 rebounds
JJ Montgomery – 6 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists

Carroll

Nate Christy – 18 points (8-11 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Isaiah Crane – 17 points (4-13 FG), 4-4 3-FG, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Isaac Round – 14 points (4-7 FG), 4-5 FT, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Inside the Numbers:

Bellevue shot 53% for the game, including going 17-26 (65%) from the floor in the second half.

Carroll shot 49% from the floor which included a 55% effort in the second half.

BU out-rebounded Carroll 32-27 on the night which included an 8-6 edge on the offensive glass that they parlayed into a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points.

The Bruin bench, led by Mathok Mathok's season-high 11 points, out-scored Carroll's 21-15

For Bellevue, it was their first win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 17, 2020 - an 84-74 over #22 Mayville State - and their first since the NAIA Division I and Division II merged prior to the 2020-21 season.

Up Next:

Bellevue is back on the road next weekend when they travel to North Dakota for a pair of contests. The Bruins face Dickinson State University at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9 before turning around to play Bismarck State College on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.