Men’s Basketball: Bruins reach NAIA semifinals

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — Junior Avery Tyler scored 27 points as Bellevue University edged Indiana University Southwest 71-65 on Saturday to reach the NAIA Division II national semifinals.

The Bruins (28-7) will face top-seeded Walsh University (31-2) at 6 p.m. on Monday. Indiana-Southeast ended its season at 27-5.

Tyler was the only Bruin in double figures, connecting on 8 of 11 shots from the field He was 2 for 2 at 3-point range. Senior Antoine Dade, the team’s second-leading scorer, was held without a field goal but pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds and scored on five free throws.

Redshirt freshman Marcos Perez scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds. Senior Ron King contributed with eight points, four rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore Ousseynou Diop was 4 for 4 from the field.

“This was a great team effort,’’ coach Shane Paben said. “Somebody new steps up every game. Our balance and team play has made this such a fun team to be around. Everyone of our players contributes.”

Bellevue, which shot 45.8 percent, held IUSE 23 points below its season average while limiting the Grenadiers to 32.4 percent shooting from the field. IUSE came into the game with the fifth-best scoring offense in the NAIA at 88 points per game.

“We did a really good job of keeping them in front of us and not allowing them to penetrate,’’ Paben said. “We contested a lot of their shots and held them to a low shooting percentage.”

George White led four Grenadiers in double figures, finishing with 13 points, two rebounds, and two blocks.

Baskets by Perez and Jelani Johnson gave the Bruins their largest lead at 63-49 with 4:39 remaining. IUSE sliced the lead to 63-55 with a 6-0 run.

A pair of free throws by Tyler and Perez and another by Dade in the final minute sealed the win.

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