BU continues strong start, wins 11th-straight in first road test

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- JJ Montgomery buried a career-best six three-pointers on his way to scoring a career-high 20 points to lead the Bellevue University men's basketball team to a 95-73 victory over the University of Providence on Friday evening at the McLaughlin Center Gymnasium.

With the victory, Bellevue improves to 11-0 on the year and 6-0 in Frontier Conference play. The loss drops the Argos to just 1-11 overall and 1-5 in the Frontier Conference.

How It Happened:

Bellevue led wire-to-wire, racing out to an early 13-2 lead on a layup from Mathok Mathok at the 15:51 mark of the first half. The lead hovered in the 8-12 points range for the next five minutes before JJ Montgomery connected on a three-pointer with 6:11 remaining to cap an elongated 16-6 scoring run.

Deng Jal interrupted Providence's best stretch of basketball in the first half, where they had outscored the Bruins by a 15-7 margin over 5:14, that saw the Argos cut the lead down to 10 on a layup from Quinn Swanson. Jal's three-pointer in the final moments of the first half provided additional breathing room as the Bruins carried a 49-36 lead into the break.

RJ Smith converted a layup on BU's first possession of the second half as the Bruins began the second half on a 9-2 scoring run that quickly saw their advantage reach the 20-point mark, 58-38, with 17:34 to play following a Liam Thompson layup.

Swanson capped an 8-0 scoring run for the Argos at the 7:24 mark to pull the hosts withing 14 but that would be as close as they got the rest of the way. Bellevue responded by scoring seven-straight thanks to a three from Jaden Phillips and consecutive buckets from Smith to restore their 20-plus point advantage.

Ahamad Bynum's three with 2:47 left gave BU their largest lead of the night at 24 points and Connor Mohr matched that lead with a pair of free throws a minute later as the Bruins secured the 22-point road victory.

Top Performers:

Bellevue:

JJ Montgomery: 20 points (7-11 FG) 6-7 3-FG, 5 assists, 1 steal
Ahamad Bynum: 19 points (7-12 FG), 5-8 3-FG, 5 assists
RJ Smith: 18 points (7-8 FG), 8 rebounds, 1 block
Jaden Phillips: 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Liam Thompson: 8 points (4-5 FG), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Providence:

Quinn Swanson: 16 points (6-12 FG,) 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Anthony Hobbs: 14 points (6-14 FG), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
Marcus Lawson: 11 points (5-14 FG), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Brendan Redhead: 10 points (3-4 FG), 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Preston Condie: 10 points (4-6 FG), 2 rebounds

Inside the Numbers:

Bellevue shot 57% (36-63) while holding Providence to 46% (29-63) shooting on the evening.

The Bruins drained 17 three-pointers, shooting a season-best 57% (17-30) from long-distance. The 17 makes were a season-high for BU in conference play and just one off their overall season-high.

Providence shot just 29% from beyond the arc, as Bellevue's defense held its opposition to below 30% from three for the sixth time this season. BU entered the game ranked eighth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense allowing teams to connect at just 26.8% clip for the year.

At 11-0, the Bruins are off to their best start since beginning the 2006-07 season with 14-straight victories.

Bellevue won the battle of the boards, 33-29, for the ninth time in 11 games this season.

The Bruins turned the ball over 11 times to UP's 13 and have now won the turnover battle in all 11 games this season. BU turned that into a 19-13 advantage at the other end.

Led by six points from Jal, the Bruin bench out-scored the Argos 17-12 on the night.

The 22-point margin of victory is Bellevue's largest on the road since dealing Bacone a 71-41 loss back on Dec. 8, 2022.

Up Next:

Bellevue returns to the hardwood tomorrow for a 7 p.m. tip in Havre, Mont. against Montana State University-Northern, whom the Bruins defeated 93-88 back on Nov. 21.