Bruins close regular season with Senior Night win over Blue Hawks

Box Score
Frontier Standings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University used a balanced offensive attack and a strong second half to cap Senior Night with a 78-72 victory over Dickinson State University on Saturday evening in Frontier Conference men's basketball action at the BU Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 22-6 overall and 17-5 in conference play, finishing tied for second in the final Frontier Conference standings. Dickinson State fell to 8-20 on the season and 6-16 in league games.

Ahamad Bynum led five Bruins in double figures with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding five assists and two steals. JJ Montgomery finished with 16 points, going 10-of-12 at the free-throw line and 2-of-5 on 3-pointers to go along with five rebounds. Liam Thompson provided 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds, RJ Smith contributed 10 points and a game-high nine boards, and Jaden Phillips chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.

Isaiah Vargas paced Dickinson State with 17 points, while Britton Cranston scored 14 points off the bench. Detavius Frierson added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Cordell Stinson nearly posted a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Prior to tip-off, the Bruins honored their seven seniors — Bynum, Deng Jal, Jagir Johal, Montgomery, Phillips, Sandor Rodriguez, and Smith — as part of the Senior Night festivities.

How It Happened

Dickinson State struck first behind early perimeter shooting, as Frierson opened the game with a 3-pointer and the Blue Hawks used a series of baskets to build a 27-18 advantage after a three-point play from Weston Zacher at the 6:56 mark of the first half.

Bellevue steadily chipped away at the deficit over the final four minutes of the period. Bynum sank four consecutive free throws and later connected on a 3-pointer to trim the margin to 34-33. After two Cranston free throws pushed the lead back to three, Thompson drove for a layup with 1:22 remaining to bring the Bruins within 36-35. Cranston hit two more foul shots with three seconds left to send Dickinson State into halftime with a 38-35 edge.

The Blue Hawks maintained a narrow lead early in the second half, going ahead 47-43 on a jumper by Vargas at the 12:30 mark. Bynum answered with back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at 47-47, and after Nate Visentin briefly put Dickinson State back in front, Montgomery buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with 10:37 remaining to give Bellevue its first lead of the half at 50-49.

Bynum continued to generate offense from mid-range, knocking down jumpers at 7:52 and 7:06 to extend the Bruins' lead to 59-54. Smith later scored inside and Thompson added a basket and a free throw as Bellevue nudged the margin to 66-59 with just under five minutes to play.

Dickinson State stayed within striking distance, using free throws from Stinson to cut the deficit to 66-61 before Montgomery answered from beyond the arc, giving the Bruins their largest lead of the night at 69-61 with 4:11 remaining. Vargas and Frierson combined to pull the Blue Hawks within 71-67, and a late 3-pointer from Zacher trimmed the margin to 75-72 with 25 seconds left.

Montgomery helped close it out at the line, making four free throws in the final 35 seconds, including the last point of the night with 10 seconds remaining, to secure the 78-72 Senior Night victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Bellevue placed five players in double figures, led by Bynum's 22 points, while Montgomery (16), Thompson (11), Smith (10), and Phillips (10) also reached double digits.

• The Bruins shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-of-58), 26.7 percent from 3-point range (4-of-15) and 69.0 percent at the free-throw line (20-of-29).

• Dickinson State connected on 41.8 percent of its shots (23-of-55), including 32.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-25), and went 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) at the stripe.

• Bellevue owned a 40-31 rebounding advantage, including a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 10-5 margin in second-chance points.

• The Bruins outscored the Blue Hawks 32-30 in the paint, while Dickinson State held a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers and a 37-16 edge in bench scoring.

• Both teams took care of the ball for most of the night, with the Bruins committing eight turnovers compared to nine for Dickinson State.

• Bellevue outscored Dickinson State 43-34 in the second half after trailing by three at the break.

Top Performers

Bellevue University
Ahamad Bynum: 22 points, 8-of-17 FG, 2-of-8 3-pointers, 4-of-4 FT, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
JJ Montgomery: 16 points, 2-of-8 FG, 2-of-5 3-pointers, 10-of-12 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Liam Thompson: 11 points, 5-of-6 FG, 1-of-4 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
RJ Smith: 10 points, 4-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 FT, 9 rebounds, 1 assist
Jaden Phillips: 10 points, 4-of-10 FG, 2-of-3 FT, 4 rebounds

Dickinson State University
Isaiah Vargas: 17 points, 6-of-12 FG, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 2-of-4 FT
Britton Cranston: 14 points, 4-of-7 FG, 2-of-5 3-pointers, 4-of-5 FT, 5 fouls drawn
Detavius Frierson: 12 points, 5-of-6 FG, 1-of-1 3-pointers, 1-of-1 FT, 4 rebounds
Cordell Stinson: 11 points, 2-of-6 FG, 7-of-8 FT, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal

Up Next

The Bruins will travel to Butte, Mont., on Feb. 27-March 2 to compete in the Frontier Conference Tournament at the Butte Civic Center. Times and pairings will be announced later this weekend.