Bruins advance to NSAA Championship with 70-66 win over DSU

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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- In a game that featured eight ties and 17 lead changes and neither team leading by more than six points, the top-seeded Bellevue University men's basketball team earned a 70-66 victory over fourth-seeded Dakota State University, Sunday afternoon in the North Star Athletic Association Tournament semifinals at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The Bruins (14-15) advanced to the NSAA Tournament Championship game next Sunday, March 3. The Bruins will play sixth-seeded Dickinson State University at 1 p.m. next Sunday in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The Blue Hawks upset second-seeded Mayville State University, 71-59, in the tournament's other semifinal. 

Dakota State ends its season with a 17-13 overall record. 

Emarr Vinson led the Bruins with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while adding three assists and two rebounds.

Jerome Bynum added 15 points. He was 3-of-5 from long range. Makeem Loudermill finished with 10 points and five boards. 

Uhana Ochan paced the Trojans with 13 points and six rebounds. Japjit Gill and Emmanuel Akpan scored 11 points apiece.  

After the Trojans opened the game with a 3-pointer by Brayden Pankonen, the Bruins went on an 8-0 run, sparked by triples from TJ Fritz and Caleb Chiang, to grab an early 8-3 advantage. 

DSU countered with a 9-0 spurt, including a 3-point play from Ochan, to take a 14-10 lead with 12:56 left in the first half. 

Another 3-pointer by Chiang capped a 5-0 BU run as the Bruins regained the lead at 17-16. BU maintained a one-point edge (21-20) at the media timeout. 

The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half, with neither team leading by more than three points as the game was deadlocked at 33-33 at the intermission. 

Vinson led the Bruins in the opening half with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Chiang and Loudermill chipped in with six points apiece. 

Ochan paced the Trojans in the first half with nine points and five rebounds. 

The Bruins held DSU to just one field goal in the first six minutes of the second half as BU built a six-point margin (41-35) with 14 minutes remaining in the contest.

The Trojans battled back, responding with a 6-0 surge to grab a 42-41 lead at the 12:44 mark. 

Four straight points from Loudermill keyed a six-point Bruin run, giving BU a 54-48 advantage with seven minutes remaining. 

The Trojans answered back, using a 7-0 run sparked by a dunk from Akpan and five straight from Uzo Dibiamaka to take a 62-58 lead with 3:28 left in the game.  

A layup by Liam Thompson and four straight points from Vinson gave BU a 67-64 lead with 49 seconds remaining. 

After Jerome Bynum made 1-of-2 free throws, a dunk by Akpan made it 68-66 with 14 ticks left on the clock. 

Christian Carter nailed two free throws with seven seconds remaining to seal the 70-66 victory.