BU advances to NSAA Semis with 71-52 win over Warriors

Box Score
NSAA Tournament Site

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Led by Jemeil King, the second-seeded Bellevue University men's basketball team defeated No. 7 Waldorf University, 71-52, Tuesday night in first-round action of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The Bruins (18-13) will host No. 3 Valley City State (19-6) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, in the NSAA Semifinals at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. VCSU defeated No. 6 Dickinson State, 76-51, in other first-round action Tuesday night. 

The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. at the highest remaining seed. The winner of the NSAA Tournament will earn an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament. 

King paced the Bruins with 17 points, four rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Justin Motley added 12 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Vaj Rice was the third Bruin in double figures, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds, helping BU to a commanding 42-20 advantage in total rebounds.

Lorenzo Smith led the Warriors with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Quincy Minor Jr. added 12 points and three boards.  

Highlighted by eight points from King, Bellevue raced out to a 23-8 lead in the first 12 minutes of the contest as seven different Bruins scored. 

The Bruins led by as many as 18 points three times in the first half before settling for a 38-22 advantage at the intermission. BU held a decisive 25-10 margin in total rebounds in the opening half. 

King led the Bruins in the first period with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Rice added 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Minor (7) and Smith (6) combined for 13 points to pace the WU offense in the opening 20 minutes of play. 

Bellevue outshot the Warriors 51.6 to 33.3 percent in the first half as the Warriors were 0-of-7 from long range. 

Sparked by five points from Tristan Furgeson, Waldorf used an 11-3 run to open the second half, cutting the deficit to single digits at 41-33 at the 15-minute mark. 

After the Warriors drew to within seven points, 3-pointers from Jaylen Wiltz and Vinny Belcaster started BU on a 12-2 run to expand the cushion to 17 points at 59-42 with seven minutes remaining. 

A 3-pointer by Paulo Araujo and a step-back 15-footer by King gave BU a 66-45 lead with 4:37 left in the game. 

A 3-point play by Araujo gave BU its largest lead at 24 points (71-47) at the 1:39 mark, before the Bruins cruised to the 71-52 victory.