No. 17 York edges Bruins, 98-96

Box Score

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- BJ Shelton and Jalen Hall combined for 57 points but it wasn't enough as No. 17-ranked York College edged the No. 24-ranked Bellevue University men's basketball team, 98-96, Saturday night in non-conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The Panthers, who also handed BU a 79-65 loss at York in the season-opener on Oct. 28, improved to 6-2 on the season. Bellevue fell to 5-5 overall on the year.

Shelton finished with a career-high 30 points while adding eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Hall also got a career-high, registering 27 points along with six rebounds and four assists. Nick Hilton and Jerred Cook each poured in 11 points, while Jaffery Stillman contributed with 10 points. 

Johnny Cooksey paced the Panther attack with 26 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Cameron Coleman added 19 points and seven boards. 

Neither team established control until Drelan Tripplett scored 10-straight Panther points to give York a 31-24 advantage with 7:24 left in the first half. The Panthers extended the lead to 11 points at 39-28 following a 3-point play by Tre Howe at the 4:22 mark. The two teams traded points the remainder of the half as York took a 48-37 lead into the intermission. 

Shelton and Hall led BU in the opening half with 12 points apiece, while Cooksey paced the Panthers with 13 points. York hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, while the Bruins connected on just two. 

The Bruins opened the second half on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to six points (52-46) with 17:40 remaining. After a Michael Johnson jumper gave York a 68-54 lead, BU responded with a 12-3 run to slice the deficit to five at 71-66 with just under 10 minutes left in the contest. 

A 3-pointer by Hilton brought the Bruins to within four points at 79-75 at the 7:23 mark. After a tip-in by Stillman made it 83-82 York at the 3:11 mark, the Panthers scored five-straight points only to see the Bruins battle back to within one point at 93-92 following two free throws from Hall with 19.6 seconds left in the game. 

York sealed the 98-96 victory with a dunk by Mark Dean and by making three-of-four free throws in the final 15 seconds. 

The Bruins will open conference play next Friday, Dec. 2 when they travel to La Crosse, Wis. for a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Viterbo University.