BU evens conference record with 83-79 win over Waldorf

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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Lewis Hayes led four Bruins in double figures with 20 points as the Bellevue University men's basketball team recorded an 83-79 victory over Waldorf University Monday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The game was played as part of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Bruin Holiday Classic. 

With the victory, Bellevue improved to 7-9 on the season and 1-1 in the NSAA. Waldorf fell to 1-7 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Bruins tied a season-high with 17 3-pointers in the contest. 

Hayes recorded 20 points, five rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and two steals in the victory. Vinny Belcsater scored a career-high 15 points, going 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Jemil King added 12 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Michael Wright was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 points, along with six rebounds and five assists. 

Quincy Minor Jr. paced the Warriors with a game-high 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Aaron Sullivan added 14 points and four boards.  

Hayes scored eight points in the first six minutes of the game as BU gained an early 15-10 advantage. Two 3-pointers by Belcaster pushed the BU advantage to 24-16 at the nine-minute mark before Minor scored seven points to spark a 10-0 Warrior run as WU took its first lead at 26-24 with 7:36 remaining before halftime. 

After five-straight BU points, the Warriors used a 13-0 run to take a 43-35 lead at the 1:35 mark. A 3-pointer by Belcaster and another by Paulo Araujo at the buzzer trimmed the deficit to 43-41 at the intermission. 

Belcaster and Araujo each hit three 3-pointers in the opening half, leading the Bruins with nine points each. Hayes added eight points, three assists, and a pair of rebounds. King finished the first half with six points, going 2-for-2 from behind the arc while adding four boards. 

Minor paced the Warriors in the opening 20 minutes with 16 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Sullivan added 10 points and four rebounds.

Bellevue nailed nine first-half 3-pointers but was just 2-of-7 at the charity stripe, compared to a 10-of-12 performance from WU.  

After a layup by Chett Helming made it a seven-point game (60-53), the Bruins went on an 8-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Jaylen Wiltz to slice the lead to 62-61 with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. 

Two 3-pointers by Belcaster sparked an 11-3 BU run to help the Bruins take their first lead of the second half at 76-73 with just under three minutes left in the game.  

A six-point BU advantage was trimmed to two (81-79) following a pair of free throws by Lorenzo Smith and a layup by Minor with 13 seconds remaining.  

Two free throws by Wright in the closing seconds made the final, 83-79.  

The Bruins will conclude the tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 30, when they host Bethany (Kan.) College at  1 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. Waldorf will battle Bethany at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in other tournament action.