December 16, 2017

Photos credits by Donald Weidler

MADISON, S.D. – Bellevue (Neb.) erased a 12-point halftime deficit Saturday evening in the North Star Athletic Association men's basketball action at DSU Fieldhouse, outscoring Dakota State (S.D.) 52-32 in the second-half for an 80-72 victory.  The Bruins outrebounded the Trojans 17-1 on the offensive boards and 14-1 in second-chance points.

Both teams are 7-6 overall record and 2-1 record in league play.

Bellevue opened up the game by going 3-of-3 from the field (with a pair of baskets by BJ Shelton and a field goal by Jalen Hall), racing to a 6-0 lead with 18 minutes, 42 seconds on the clock.  The Trojans scored their first point of the game after a free-throw by Kevin Daniels with 17:57 on the clock (DSU trailed 6-1).

The Bruins maintained their lead between two- and five-points for the most part of the first-half.  Trailing 19-14, the Trojans used a strong 26-9 closing outburst in the final 7:47 of the first-half for a 40-28 halftime lead.

During that outburst, Dakota State was 10-of-12 from the field including 6-of-6 from the 3-point line (DSU hit five straight 3-pointers in a span of 3 minutes, 12 seconds from 7:47 mark to 4:35 mark on the clock).

The Trojans only missed eight shots in the first-half, recording a blazing 66.7 percent shooting from the field (16-of-24 field goals).  DSU was 7-of-9 from the 3-point line.  The Bruins were held to 39.4 percent field goal shooting (13-of-33 field goals) and 1-of-8 from the 3-point arc.

Bellevue kicked off the second-half surge with a 7-0 run to cut DSU's lead to 40-35 with 18:23 to go after a 3-point play by Hall.  The Trojans ended their scoring drought with a basket by Justin Folkers with 18:26 remaining (DSU led 42-35).

The Trojans expanded their lead to 46-37 after the Bruins made another scoring run.  Bellevue went on a 10-0 scoring run to regain their lead to 47-46 after a pair of free-throws by Blake Wilder with 13:10 left.

Both teams went through 13 lead changes and 3 ties in the second-half before the Bruins pulled away late.  With DSU leading at 61-60, Bellevue went on a 7-0 scoring run to stretch their lead to 67-61 with 6:07 left.

Dakota State could get no closer than four points at three different occasions – 67-63 after a basket by Folkers with 5:08 left, 70-66 after a 3-pointer by Keeon Johnson with 1:31 remaining and 74-70 after a 3-pointer by Daniels with less than 30 seconds to go.

The Bruins secured the game by making all six free-throw attempts (two apiece by Nick Hilton, Richard Reed and Wilder) in the final 26 seconds of the game.

BU was 16-of-34 from the field (47.1 percent), 6-of-12 from the 3-point line and 14-of-18 free-throws in the second-half.  DSU converted 13-of-27 field goals (48.1 percent), 3-of-14 3-pointers and 3-of-4 free-throws in the final twenty minutes of the game.

Johnson led the Trojans with 19 points on his 8-of-11 field goal shooting.  Daniels added 16 points.  Bobby Farquah tallied 10 points off the bench.  Brendon Boomsma had nine points, while Folkers had eight points.

Maurice Arrington pulled down nine rebounds for Dakota State.  Daniels had five rebounds.  Johnson collected four rebounds.  Farquah had two blocked shots.

Johnson dished out a season-high eight assists and stole the ball twice for DSU.  Daniels added four assists. 

Four BU starters scored in double figures, led by Wilder with a game-high 19 points (7-of-9 field goals and 5-of-5 free-throws).  Reed added 15 points.  Hall and Hilton each scored 12 points.  Shelton had eight points.

Wilder collected eight rebounds for the Bruins.  Shelton added seven rebounds.

Shelton produced four assists for Bellevue.  Hall had three assists.  Hilton stole the ball four times.

Dakota State shot a sizzling 56.9 percent overall from the field, converting 29 baskets in 51 attempts.  The Trojans were 10-of-23 from the 3-point line.  Bellevue was 29-of-67 from the field (43.3 percent) and 7-of-20 from the 3-point arc.

BU made 15 free-throws in 20 attempts (75 percent) compared to DSU 4-of-6 free-throws.

Bellevue won the rebounding battle, outrebounding Dakota State 40-24.  The Bruins outscored the Trojans 38-20 inside the paint and 18-8 in points off turnovers.

Dakota State looks to bounce back in the winning column Sunday afternoon as they continue their North Star action versus Mayville State (N.D.).  Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.

Bellevue stays on the road as they visit Waldorf (Iowa) in the North Star conference contest at Hanson Fieldhouse.  The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. in Forest City, Iowa.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director