BU outlasts Blue Hawks in road victory

DICKINSON, N.D. -- Ahamad Bynum scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the second half to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 79-68 victory over Dickinson State University on Friday evening at Scott Gymnasium.

With the victory, Bellevue improves to 14-2 overall and remains atop the Frontier Conference standings, upping their league mark to 9-1. The loss drops Dickinson State to 5-11 overall and 3-7 in the Frontier Conference.

How It Happened:

Dickinson State got off to a strong start, taking a 6-2 lead on a pair of three-pointers from Cordell Stinson and Detavius Frierson. Bellevue took its first lead of the night on a mid-range jumper from Ahamad Bynum at the 15:08 mark.

The Bruins and DSU consistently traded mini-runs of four and five points apiece for the remainder of the half. Bellevue took the largest lead of the half when Jaden Phillips scored at the 4:17 mark to cap an 11-1 scoring run and give the Bruins a 31-24 advantage.

Trailing by one, following a 10-2 Blue Hawk run, BU closed the half by scoring five points in the final 40 seconds when Deng Jal converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Ahamad Bynum went coast-to-coast in the final seconds of the first half as Bellevue took a 38-34 lead into the intermission.

The second half started in the same fashion as the first with the teams trading runs. Bynum scored in transition ahead of a technical to DSU coach Derek Selvin and Bynum knocked down both free throws. That 8-0 scoring run grew the lead to 10 points, 56-46, with 12:08 remaining.

Dickinson State, last year's NSAA regular season and tournament champions, hung in behind a vocal home crown, tying the game on a driving layup from Stinson with 3:29 remaining.

At the other end Bynum canned a deep three to give Bellevue a 69-66 advantage. Bynum scored again on the ensuing Bruin possession at BU was in the midst of pulling away behind a 9-0 run.

Just ahead of the one-minute mark, Haliburton poked away a steal and scored a breakaway layup at the other end to effectively put the game out of reach.

Bellevue knocked down 6-8 free throws in the final 51 seconds as they out-scored Dickinson State 13-2 over the final 3:05 of the game to pull away for the win.

Top Performers:

Bellevue

Ahamad Bynum – 29 points (12-20 FG), 4-5 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Jaden Phillips – 19 points (5-10 FG), 8-8 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Jermaine Haliburton – 12 points (3-8 FG), 5-5 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
JJ Montgomery – 8 points (3-5 FG), 2-4 3-FG, 2 assists
Mathok Mathok – 6 points (3-4 FG), 6 rebounds

Dickinson State

Cordell Stinson – 17 points (7-10 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Nate Visentin – 14 points (6-13 FG), 7 rebounds, 1 block
Detavius Frierson – 12 points (4-9 FG), 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Quincy Linton – 10 points (4-10 FG), 1 rebound, 1 assist

Inside the Numbers:

Dickinson State won the rebounding battle, 37-33, and featured a 9-2 edge on the offensive glass.

Fouls played a significant role on both sides with the two teams being whistled for a combined 45 fouls resulting in 41 free throw attempts. Bellevue shot 82% (18-22) at the charity stripe while the host Blue Hawks struggled to just 58% (11-19) at the line.

The back-and-forth game featured 14 lead changes and three ties.

Bellevue out-shot Dickinson State 52-46% on the evening, despite just a 5-15 (33%) effort from beyond the arc.

Up Next:

Bellevue returns to the hardwood tomorrow evening for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Bismarck State University to wrap up a seven-game road trip.