Bruins fall at Bismarck State

BISMARCK, N.D. -- The Bellevue University men's basketball team was unable to slow down Bismarck State College in the second half as the Mystics defeated BU 83-73 on Saturday evening at the BSC Armory.

The loss drops Bellevue to 14-3 on the year and 9-2 in the Frontier Conference. Bismarck State takes their first win of the year, improving to 1-16 overall and 1-10 in league play.

How It Happened:

Jah Gulley buried two quick threes to get host Bismarck State off to an early 6-0 lead before Ahamad Bynum got the Bruins going with a three-pointer to kick off a 14-0 run in 5:11 of game time. Bellevue held the Mystics without a point for 7:11 during a larger 18-2 scoring spurt that saw Bynum give BU an 18-8 lead with a long jumper.

Bellevue looked primed to pull away but Gulley kept BSC in the game with five first half three-pointers as he piled up 21 points on 6-7 shooting in the half. Gulley had only made one three-pointer on the season and came in averaging just 4.2 points per game.

After a Bynum trey put BU ahead 32-27, Bismarck State rattled off seven-straight points to take their first lead since the opening minutes, 34-32 with 1:05 play, but Bellevue closed the half on a 6-0 run over the final 39 seconds. Bynum sank a pair of free throws and drilled his fifth triple off an offensive rebound with three seconds left on the clock to take a 38-34 lead into the break.

Bynum led BU with all 21 of his points coming in the half and JJ Montgomery added nine on 3-5 shooting from deep. Bellevue drained nine threes as a team in the half on 18 attempts.

Four Bruins scored during a 9-3 run to open the second half as BU stretched their lead back to double figures, 47-37, on a hook shot from RJ Smith at the 18:04 mark.

Bismarck State would not go away, as the Mystics shot the ball exceptionally well in the second half. A 26-11 run that spanned 6:23 say BSC take a 63-58 lead on a bucket from Carter Zeller with 10:47 to play.

The Mystics took their biggest lead of the game, 74-63, on a pair of free throws from Houston Davis with 4:02 to go.

Bellevue cut the lead to eight on a layup from Jermaine Haliburton but a jumper from Gulley and three-pointer from Alex Proctor put the game out of reach as the Mystics held on for the victory.

Top Performers:

Bellevue

Ahamad Bynum – 21 points, 5-14 3-FG, 2 rebounds
JJ Montgomery – 15 points, 5-9 3-FG, 3 assists, 1 steal
Jermaine Haliburton –11 points (4-7 FG), 2-4 3-FG, 3 assists, 3 steals
RJ Smith – 9 points (4-8 FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Bismarck State

Jah Gulley – 26 points (8-11 FG), 5-6 3-FG, 4 assists, 2 steals
Houston Davis – 15 points (5-7 FG), 5-5 FT, 10 rebounds
Alex Proctor – 13 points (5-12 FG), 3-6 3-FG, 6 rebounds
Carter Zeller – 12 points (6-7 FG), 6 rebounds

Inside the Numbers:

Bellevue was called for 19 fouls as Bismarck State hit 15-19 free throws on the night. BU finished just 7-10 from the line while BSC was whistled for just 12 fouls.

Bismarck State shot 64% (18-28) from the floor in the second half, scoring 49 points.

The Mystics out-rebounded BU 32-22 on the night and out-scored the Bruins 26-12 in the paint.

Bellevue turned the ball over a season-low five times but were out-shot 57-41% from the floor.

Up Next:

Bellevue returns home next weekend for the first time in over a month when they entertain the University of Montana Western for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Jan. 16.