BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Peru State College men's basketball team never trailed and pulled away late for a 65-51 victory over Bellevue University in the final game of the Chick-fil-A-Classic Saturday night in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins moved to 1-1 on the season with the loss. PSC improved to 2-0 overall.
TJ Fritz led BU with 16 points, going 4-of-9 from long distance while adding four rebounds. Nigel Wilson added 11 points, four boards, and three assists.
Devin Tomlinson led three Bobcats in double figures, finishing with 20 points along with 11 rebounds. Carlos Hines added 14 points, three boards and a pair of assists. Ty Griggs finished with 10 points and two assists.
The Bruins shot just 32.2 percent from the field and were 27.3 percent from beyond the arc while committing 12 turnovers.
The Bobcats used an 8-2 run to grab an 18-12 lead with 8:34 left in the first half. A 3-pointer by Christian Tidiane sparked a 7-0 PSC run, extending the margin to 11 points at 25-14 with 4:18 remaining in the first half. The Bruins got to within five points following a 6-0 run capped by a triple by Fritz before PSC closed the half on a 6-3 run to take a 31-23 lead into the intermission.
Wilson led BU in the first half with five points and two rebounds. Tomlinson paced the Bobcats with eight points and six boards.
Fritz's three 3-pointers sparked a 14-7 run in the first five minutes of the second half as BU narrowed the gap to one point at 38-37.
Hines and Miller combined for nine points in an 11-2 PSC spurt to extend the margin back to 10 points at 49-39 with 9:13 remaining. Five straight points by Tomlinson made it a 13-point contest at 56-43 at the 6:30 mark.
The Bruins went over four minutes without a basket as the Bobcats maintained a double-digit lead until Fritz completed a 3-point play to make it a nine-point contest at 58-49 at the three-minute mark. After a layup by Wilson drew BU to within seven points, PSC scored the final seven points of the game to earn the 65-51 victory.
The Bruins will host Union (Neb.) College next Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
