POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Fourth-seeded Bellevue (Neb.) shut down one of
the best scoring offenses and defeated Indiana Southeast 71-65 in
Saturday's second quarterfinal game. The Bruins advance to play in
Monday's semifinal round where they will face top-seeded Walsh (Ohio).
Indiana Southeast, playing in its first national quarterfinals, came
into the tournament with the fifth best scoring offense in the NAIA at
88 points per game. It was the Bruins', however, that would dictate the
pace and style of play right from the start, limiting the Grenadiers to
just 30% in the first half. With the score 24-20 , Bellevue held
Indiana Southeast to just one field goal over the final 8:30 to take a
33-24 lead into halftime. Bruins' guard Avery Tyler was the offensive
spark, scoring 16 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance in
the opening half.
The
Grenadiers scored six of the first eight points to start the second
half and were within five (35-30) before tying the game at 43 on a
three-point play by Rick Bodiford. Bellevue responded by scoring the
next 10 points capped off by a jumper by Tyler to give the Bruins' a
10-point lead with eight minutes to play. Indiana Southeast made one
last charge to pull within six during the final minutes but the Bruins
held on and advance to their third semifinals.
Bellevue was led by Tyler who scored a game-high 27 points and
pulled down five rebounds. Antonio Dade grabbed a tournament best 16
rebounds to go with five points and Marcos Perez added nine points off
the bench. The Bruins shot 46% from the field and made a living at the
foul line, making 20-of-31 free throw attempts. They also controlled
the boards, holding a 41-33 advantage on the glass.
Indiana Southeast shot 32% for the game, well below its season
average of 48%. Rick Bodiford was among five Grenadier players in
double figures with 14 points. George White had 13 and Jazzmarr
Ferguson netted 11 to go with five boards and two assists. Indiana
Southeast closes the season with a 27-5 record.
Bellevue (28-7) will face top-seed Walsh (Ohio) in the first
semifinal game on Monday, March 15 at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are making
their third appearance in the semifinals.