December 4, 2021

Photos credit by Karen Giles

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) hosted Bellevue (Neb.) in the rematch of last year's North Star Athletic Association men's basketball postseason tournament championship game Saturday evening in the conference opener at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Bruins opened an 11-point halftime lead and secured a 67-54 victory over the Trojans.

Dakota State dropped their overall record to 3-9 and 0-1 NSAA conference record.  Bellevue improved to 7-5 overall record and 1-0 NSAA record.

The Trojans step aside their conference play, hosting No. 10 ranked Jamestown (N.D.) Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.  There will be a developmental game prior to the varsity game, welcoming Riverland CC (Minn.) at 5 p.m. to close out the 2021 portion of the schedule.

Bellevue stays on the road next Saturday as they visit Iowa Wesleyan in a non-conference game at 5 p.m.

Bellevue (Neb.) 67, Dakota State (S.D.) 54 – FINAL

• Eric Pierce hit a 3-pointer to give Bellevue its first lead of the game at 3-0 with nineteen minutes, fourteen seconds on the clock.
• Dakota State answered with five straight points to earn their first lead of the game.  Ronnie Latting scored three points and capped the 5-0 scoring run with a basket by Chris Morales with 17:11 on the clock (DSU led 5-3).
• At 9-7, Bellevue went on a 11-4 scoring run to balloon their lead to 20-11 after a field goal by Vinny Belcaster with 8:11 left in the first half.
• The Bruins maintained their lead between five- and nine-points for the remaining of the first half.
• After a 3-point miss by Taylor Pomeroy, Belcaster rebounded the ball and made the basket as the first half expired to give BU a 31-20 lead.
• Bellevue shot 44 percent from the field in the first half (11-of-25 field goals) and held Dakota State to 28 percent (7-of-25 field goals).
• Deshawn Kelly hit a 3-pointer (assisted by Maxwell Nielson) as the Trojans trimmed their deficit to 33-23 with 19:18 to go in the game.
• The Bruins went on an 8-1 scoring tear to establish the biggest lead of the game at 41-24, capped by Martis Johnson's basket (assisted by Paulo Araujo) with 16:13 left.
• Bellevue maintained control for the rest of the game.  Dakota State could get no closer than eight points on two different occasions - a 3-pointer by Berto Gittens with 3:21 remaining and 59-51 after a pair of free-throws by Kelly with 2:50 left).
• The Bruins closed the game with a 5-0 run in the final 1:41 to secure the victory.
• Bellevue outscored Dakota State 36-34 in the final twenty minutes.  DSU shot a sizzling 59.1 percent from the field (13-of-22 field goals), while BU shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26 field goals) in the second half.
• Kelly scored 18 points off the bench for the Trojans.  He was 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from the 3-point arc and converted 4-of-7 free-throws.  Lamarr Wood added eight points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block. 
• Jordan Lynn tallied seven points, three assists, and three rebounds for Dakota State.  He also had a steal and a block.  Gittens had five points and six rebounds.  He dished out three assists.
• Morales scored six points and grabbed five rebounds for DSU.  Nielson had four points, two assists, and two rebounds. 
• Araujo poured in a game-high 25 points on his 9-of-12 field goals and 7-of-8 free-throws for Bellevue.  Belcaster added 13 points.  Pierce and Val Rice each scored nine points.  Rice pulled down seven rebounds.
• Pierce had six assists and five rebounds for the Bruins.  Johnson had seven points.
• BU shot 51 percent overall from the field (26-of-51 field goals) compared to DSU 42.6 percent (20-of-47 field goals).  Both teams made three 3-pointers.
• The Trojans were 11-of-18 from the free-throw line (61.1 percent).  The Bruins converted 12-of-20 free-throws (60 percent).
• Bellevue outrebounded Dakota State 31-29.  The Bruins outscored the Trojans 42-28 inside the paint.
• DSU outscored BU 25-9 in bench points.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director