Bruins advance with 68-62 win over PC in NSAA Tournament

Box Score
NSAA Tournament Site

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Vinny Belcaster scored 20 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 68-62 victory over visiting Presentation College in the quarterfinals of the NSAA Tournament Wednesday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.  

The Bruins, who improved to 18-12 on the season, will face No. 2 seeded Valley City State University on Saturday (Feb. 26) in the NSAA Tournament semifinals beginning at 8 p.m. at the Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D. 

VCSU defeated Dickinson State, 86-71, in a first-round contest in Valley City, N.D. 

Belcaster went 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from long range while nailing 8-of-12 from the charity stripe.  

Paulo Araujo added 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the victory. Taylor Pomeroy registered 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding two rebounds. Justin Motley finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and a pair of assists. 

Dwight Felton led the Saints with 18 points, three assists, and two steals. Travez Nyx added 15 points and three assists. Denzel McDuffey was the third Saint in double figures, finishing with a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  

Neither team connected on a field goal until four minutes into the game when Belcaster's short jumper gave BU an early 3-0 lead. The Saints were held scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the contest as BU built a 7-0 advantage. 

PC battled back, going on a 12-4 run to take a 12-11 lead following a 3-pointer by Nyx with 11:54 left in the first half.  

The Bruins countered with consecutive 3-pointers by Araujo and Pomeroy to take a 17-12 lead midway through the opening period. 

A 13-2 PC run sparked by a steal and a layup by Dwight Felton gave the Saints a 25-19 lead with 4:08 left in the first half. 

Two-straight baskets by Vaj Rice started a 9-0 Bruin run as BU regained the lead at 28-25 following a deep 3-pointer by Pomeroy. 

The two teams traded baskets as BU took a 30-27 lead heading into the intermission. 

Pomeroy led BU in the opening half with 10 points, going 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Araujo added five points and five rebounds. 

Nyx paced the Saints with 10 points, two rebounds, and a pair of assists as PC's starters only scored four points in the opening half. 

After Belcaster opened the second half with a layup to give BU a five-point advantage, the Saints tied the game on a 5-0 run. 

The Bruins responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Belcaster and Jerome Bynum to take a 38-32 lead with 14:12 left in the game. 

A step-back 3-pointer by Belcaster gave the Bruins a nine-point advantage and an emphatic dunk by Motley kept the margin at nine at 53-44 at the 6:41 mark. 

A 15-foot baseline jumper by Captain Whitlock made it a six-point contest at 56-50 with just under five minutes remaining. 

After a free throw by Araujo expanded the BU lead back to nine points, the Saints responded with a 4-0 run to pull to within five points at 59-54 at the 2:48 mark. 

That is as close as the Saints would get as BU drained eight free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the 68-62 victory.