Undermanned Bruins give Jimmies all they can handle in Opening Round

Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. – Playing short-handed, the Bellevue University men's basketball team saw their season end on Friday afternoon in the 2020-21 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy. The game was much closer than the final margin which saw the Bruins fall to the University of Jamestown 86-69 in the NAIA Opening Round Bracket B.

With the win, Jamestown improves to 20-8 and advance to the Omaha Bracket B final where they will meet top-seeded and No. 3-ranked LSU Shreveport (16-1) tomorrow at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site in Kansas City, Mo.

Bellevue concludes their season with a 20-14 overall mark.

Isaiah Bates, playing his first game for BU since Jan. 23, scored the Bruins first six points before a dunk from Eric Pierce prompted a Jamestown timeout with 17:50 to play and BU leading 8-5.

The Jimmies scored seven-straight out of the timeout to grab a 12-8 lead before a transition layup by Jemeil King halted the run.

With a four-point lead, Will Cordes hit a quick three for the Jimmies as UJ took a 23-16 lead and Bellevue called their first timeout.

Bates responded with a bucket at the other end to start a 5-0 Bruin run as Bellevue cut the deficit to just a bucket, 23-21.

Things stayed fairly even into the remainder of the half and the Jimmies, despite 13 first half turnovers held a narrow 33-29 lead at the intermission.

Pierce (10) and Bates (8) scored a combined 18 points to lead the Bruins in the first half.

GPAC Player of the Year Mason Walters dropped in 13 first half points with Marc Kjos and Brady Birch adding six apiece for the Jimmies.

After Jamestown scored first in the second half, Bellevue responded with six of the next eight points to pull within two, 37-35, when Paulo Araujo knocked down BU's first three of the game.

Jamestown had an answer of their own, rattling off five quick points from the Jimmies gave and a transition three to go up 47-37, their largest lead of the game to that point.

The Jimmies stretched their lead to as many as 11 points but BU kept hitting back. After a 7-2 Bruin run, capped by a steal and fast-break layup form Martis Johnson the Bruins trailed by just five, 61-56, with 7:22 to play.

Bates scored four-straight for BU after Cole Woodford hit a three for the Jimmies to slow the Bruin momentum and Bellevue trailed just 64-60 with 6:24 to play.

Bellevue pulled to within a single possession for the first time since the 17:34 mark after Jemeil King knocked down a corner trey.

The Bruins pulled within one, 68-67, before an 11-0 Jimmie run, aided by two huge officiating calls, had Jamestown back in front 79-67 over the ensuing1:31 with 2:46 to play.

Walters finished with a game-high 30 for Jamestown. Both Birch and Kjos joined him in double figures with 16 and 12, respectively.

Pierce finished with a team-high 20 for the Bruins. Bates added 18 and Belcaster chipped in 11.