Bruins fall to Division II Upper Iowa

FAYETTE, Iowa -- Chris Burton scored a season-high 15 points but the Bellevue University basketball team dropped an 85-74 decision at Upper Iowa University on Tuesday evening at Dorman Gymnasium.

Mike Cardenas knocked down a three right out of the gate but Upper Iowa went on a 14-5 run over the next 6:16 to grab an early 8-point lead. An old-fashioned 3-point play by Jimmy Roth at the 7:21 mark gave the Peacocks their first 10-point advantage (24-14) of the night.

Upper Iowa scored 10 straight points over the final 1:49 of the first half to take a 44-25 lead into the locker room.

At Right: Chris Burton scored a team-high 15 points for the Bruins.

Trailing by 19 points with 15:53 to play, Bellevue mounted a run. The Bruins scored 12 of the next 15 points to pull within 10 with 11:32 remaining. That's as close as Bellevue would get as the Peacocks held on for the 11-point win.

Luke Lenhart led the Peacocks with a game-high 27 points powered by a 6-of-9 effort from three-point range. Three other Upper Iowa players reached double figures led by Roth and Mitchell Eighme with 14 points each and Dennis Austin III added 10.

Joining Chris Burton in double-figures were Carl Robinson and Cardenas who chipped in 11 each. The Bruins struggled from beyond on the arc, hitting on just 6-of-25 attempts.

Chris Ashanti pulled down a season-best 14 boards while Marquis Aaron added nine for the Bruins who out-rebounded the Peacocks by a 42-39 margin. Ashanti also handed out a team-best four assists on the evening.

The 8^th-ranked Bruins (6-3) host their annual Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. Bellevue plays College of the Ozarks at 7 p.m. Friday and York College at 5 p.m. on Saturday.