Offense clicks as Bruins cruise to 95-63 win at Viterbo Classic

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- A 59 percent effort from the floor and a season-low seven turnovers fueled a dominating night on the offensive end as the Bellevue University men's basketball team picked up a 95-63 victory over College of the Ozarks on Friday evening at the Viterbo Classic.

Bellevue evened their record at 4-4 while Ozarks slipped to 2-7 with their third-straight loss.

Eric Pierce and Taylor Pomeroy shared game-high honors with 19 points apiece and each grabbed five boards. Pierce finished 8-of-9 from the floor and Pomeroy drained a season-high four threes. Paulo Araujo (15), Vinny Belcaster (14), and Justin Motley (13) all scored in double digits with Motley pacing the rebounding effort, collecting six caroms.

Josh Linehan paced Ozarks with 16 points and Blaine Cline joined him in double figures with 11.

The 32-point margin of victory was the largest for the Bruins against Ozarks since a 41-point triumph in 2012, and their second largest all-time. The former MCAC rivals met for the 59^th time on Friday with Bellevue improving to 40-19 all-time against the Bobcats.

Bellevue turned in one of their best offensive halves in the opening 20 minutes. The Bruins shot 56% from the floor and turned the ball over just once to take a 44-26 lead into the locker room.

Ozarks started strong hitting four of their first five field goal attempts to race out to a 10-4 lead.

BU cut into the lead and trailed just 15-14 with 12:17 to play before going on a 22-3 run over the next 9:12 to take a 36-18 lead. Bellevue scored on five of their next six possessions, with all of their points coming in the paint until Taylor Pomeroy hit an and-one free throw to break that streak. Eric Pierce capped the game-changing run with an old-fashioned three-point play of his own.

Four Blaine Cline free throws with under three minutes to play saw CofO trim the deficit to 14 but Bellevue scored the final four points of the half. Justin Motley scored from the block before a Bobcat turnover, and Vinny Belcaster made a driving layup in the final seconds to put the Bruins up 18 at the break.

Pierce led all players with 12 points at the break. Joining him in double figures was Motley who dropped in 10 and grabbed five rebounds. In all, the Bruins saw five players score at least six first half points.

Of their 44 points in the first half, 32 came in the paint for BU who out-scored Ozarks 32-10 in that regard.

The Bobcats tried to cut into the lead out of the break, scoring the first six points of the second half but Bellevue quickly extinguished any momentum.

Pierce drained a step-back three to key a 13-2 run which Araujo book-ended with a trey of his own.

Bellevue led by as many as 34 in the second half as they rolled to their largest victory of the season. The Bruins dominated the glass with a 36-23 rebounding advantage and racked up a 50-16 edge in points in the paint.

Bellevue continues play at the Viterbo Classic tomorrow with a noon tip-off against Cardinal Stritch University. The Bruins downed the Wolves, 68-54, back on Nov. 5 at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center in the Chick-fil-A Classic.