Men's Basketball: Bellevue clamps down for win

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — Bellevue University limited William Jessup to one field goal over the final five minutes while recording an 85-67 win at the NAIA men's basketball Division II national tournament.

The fourth-seeded Bruins (26-7) will face 13th-seeded Cedarville, an 86-77 overtime winner over Warner Pacific, in the second round Friday at 1:45 p.m. William Jessup, champion of the California Pacific Conference Tournament, ended 17-14.

Junior Avery Tyler led all scorers with 20 points, 16 in the second half. He also added a game-high nine rebounds while recording nine of the Bruins' final 16 points. Senior Antoine Dade added 15 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Jelani Johnson was the third Bruin in double figures with 11 points, while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Four other Bellevue players scored at least seven points.

Never able to establish complete control, Bellevue grabbed its largest lead at 67-55 following Marcos Perez' third 3-pointer with 7:13 left.

The Warriors quickly answered with a 6-0 run, capped by a Kirsten Kadeem 3-pointer to draw them to within 67-61 with 6:33 to go.

The Bruins pushed the lead back to double digits with a 5-1 run following a pair of free throws by Dade to give BU a 72-62 advantage with 4:39 remaining.

After WJU pulled to within single digits twice, Bellevue closed the game on a 10-1 run.

Bellevue shot 51.7 percent for the game, including a 57.1 percent (16 of 28) showing after the break. The Bruin defense held the Warriors to 36.8 percent shooting, while maintaining a 37-26 edge in rebounds.

The Bruins raced out to a 15-5 lead in the first eight minutes. WJU, which was making its first appearance, answered by going on a 20-10 run to tie the game at 25-all with four minutes before intermission. Bellevue closed the half on a 10-6 spurt to take a 35-31 lead at halftime. Sophomore Ousseynou Diop led BU in the opening half with eight points off the bench.

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