Bruins lock down DSU in 17-point road victory

MADISON, S.D. -- Behind Jaden Phillips' 22 points and a staunch defensive effort that held the Trojans under 30 in each half, the Bellevue University men's basketball picked up a 71-54 win at Dakota State University on Friday evening in a Frontier Conference match-up.

With their third-straight win Bellevue improves to 17-3 overall and 12-2 in league play while DSU slips to 14-5 on the year and sees their mark in Frontier Conference play fall to 9-5.

How It Happened:

Bellevue led 8-2 early behind six quick points from Jaden Phillips. The Bruin defense limited the Trojans to just one field goal in the first 6 minutes.

Nathan Ojukwu came off the bench to knock down 13 points in under seven minutes to give DSU their first lead of the game, 17-15, after his third three-pointer of the half.

Dakota State and BU traded runs much of the remainder of the half as there were a trio of lead changes over the final 8:16 minutes before the Bruins took a 33-29 lead into the intermission.

Ojukwu and Phillips led all players with 13 first half points for their respective teams. DSU's Lukas Morgan added 10 of his own for the Trojans while RJ Smith dropped in six for BU in the opening 20 minutes.

The Bruins opened the second half on a 10-2 run over the first 3:06, quickly pushing their lead to double figures. The lead grew to as many as 16 on a layup from RJ Smith with 11:38 remaining as the Bruins took a 52-36 lead.

Ojukwu answered with a three at the other end but BU held Dakota State to just on field goal over the next 9-plus minutes as the lead bounced between 11 and 15 points.

Tyler Beckwith scored a layup with 3:00 remaining to make it 60-49 game but Bellevue scored the next nine points capped by a 6-0 scoring spurt from Jermaine Haliburton to take a 20-point advantage before polishing off the 17-point victory.

Reigning conference defensive player of the week JJ Montgomery held DSU's Brayden Pankonen to just five points on three field goal attempts.

Top Performers:

Bellevue University:

Jaden Phillips – 22 points (8-12 FG), 3-4 3-FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Ahamad Bynum – 12 points, 3-3 FT, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Jermaine Haliburton – 12 points (4-10 FG), 2-4 3-FG, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
RJ Smith – 12 points (6-6 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Liam Thompson – 2 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks

Dakota State University:

Nathan Ojukwu – 18 points (7-17 FG), 4-11 3-FG, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
Lukas Morgan – 12 points (4-13 FG), 2 rebounds
Brayden Pankonen – 5 points (1-3 FG), 7 rebounds, 2 steals

Inside the Numbers:

Bellevue out-shot Dakota State 50-39% on the night, hitting on 8-19 (42%) three-pointers while DSU finished 6-16 (38%) from beyond the arc.

Ojukwu and Morgan combined for 30 of DSU's 54 points, the rest of the team combining on 8-19 shooting from the floor.

Neither team was especially proficient at the free throw line with BU shooting 60% (9-15) and the Trojans hitting at a 53% (10-19) clip.

BU won the turnover battle 13-9, their ninth game of fewer of 10 turnovers as they improve to 8-1 in such games.

Dakota State out-rebound Bellevue 33-31. It was just the sixth time the Bruins have lost the battle of the boards, but they are 4-2 in those games.

Up Next:

Bellevue travels to North Dakota next weekend for a pair of road games at Mayville State University and Valley City State University. The Bruins meet the Comets on Friday, Jan. 30 for a 7 p.m. tip before heading to VCSU on Saturday, Jan. 31 for a 7 p.m. tip-off with the Vikings.