Bellevue University spread the scoring around in an 86-57 win over Dakota Wesleyan University in the Fulton State Bank Classic Friday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
The No. 19 Bruins (3-1) had five players, including four starters, in double figures as they handed the Tigers (2-1) their first loss of the young season.
“They took it right at us, beat us up and I don’t think it helped the way we played defense,” first-year DWU coach Matt Wilber said. “They came out and punched us in the mouth from the start, and we didn’t respond very well.”
The Tigers were shorthanded early, as starting forward Jalen Voss was forced to sit just two minutes into the game after picking up his second personal foul.
“It was a lack of effort on our end,” Voss said about the loss. “I put myself on the bench where I can’t help my team and I can’t score.”
ADVERTISEMENT
DWU struggled to get its offense going in the first half, shooting just 33 percent in the first 20 minutes.
With Bellevue up 11-10 less than seven minutes into the game, the Bruins went on a 15-2 run. Bellevue rode that momentum to a 42-26 lead at halftime.
The second half saw little change, as Bellevue continued to find easy points in the paint and Bruin shooters knocked down open 3-pointers. Bellevue shot 58.6 percent from the field in the game, including 9-of-20 from long distance.
“We talked about sharing the ball a lot more after our last game,” Bellevue coach Shane Paben said. “I’m proud of how the guys came out and distributed the ball tonight. We got exactly what we wanted to get done tonight.”
Leading the Bruins on offense was Lee Ames, who poured in a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Given Kalipinde, Michael Dotson, Taylor Young and Thomas Hammock each finished in double-digits for Bellevue.
The Tigers were led by Luke Bamberg, who played 27 minutes coming off a back issue that held him out of the DWU opener and limited his time against Presentation College on Tuesday.
The junior forward scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Trae Bergh continued his strong early-season shooting, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Bergh hit three 3-pointers on six attempts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Voss got into a rhythm in the second half, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds.
The Tigers have no time to think about the loss, as DWU plays Benedictine University at Springfield in the Tigers’ second game of the Fulton State Bank Classic at 6 p.m. today at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
“We have to bounce back right away,” Wilber said. “Benedictine is very good and if we don’t guard better we are going to see the same thing.”
Bellevue plays No. 18 Dakota State University at 4 p.m. today at the Corn Palace. The Trojans defeated Benedictine 76-61 in the early game Friday.
Bellevue 86
Dakota Wesleyan 57
DWU (2-1)
Jalen Voss 5-9 0-3 11; Luke Bamberg 5-12 4-6 14; Trae Bergh 5-9 0-0 13; Jade Miller 2-6 1-2 5; Stephen Lee 0-4 0-0 0; Jaylen Uthe 0-2 0-0 0; Sawyre Gibson 1-1 0-0 2; Tate Martin 2-8 0-0 5; Eric Warkenthien 1-1 0-0 2; Jon Vorwald 1-1 0-2 2; Matt Henriksen 1-4 0-0 3.
Bellevue (3-1)
Given Kalipinde 4-6 1-1 10; Michael Dotson 4-7 2-3 10; Taylor Young 7-12 1-1 15; Lee Ames 8-10 0-0 20; Russell Droll 0-1 2-2 2; Bailey Sanders 1-3 2-2 4; Scott Sellers 1-2 0-0 2; Thomas Hammock 4-9 0-0 12; Dimitri Chonis 3-4 0-0 6; Alex Worthen-Harris 2-3 1-2 5; Robert Perry 0-1 0-0 0.
Halftime: BU 42-26. 3-point field goals: DWU 6-23 (Bergh 3), BU 9-20 (Ames 4, Hammock 4). Rebounds: DWU 30 (Bamberg 8, Lee 5, Voss 4, Bergh 4), BU 33 (Kalipinde 7, Chonis 5). Steals: DWU: 6 (Bamberg 3), BU 7 (Ames 3). Assists: DWU 15 (Bamberg 4, Martin 3, Vorwald 3). Turnovers: DWU 13 (Miller 5, Bergh 3, Henriksen 3), BU 11 (Worthen-Harris 3). Total fouls: DWU 12, BU 18. Fouled out: BU Worthen-Harris.
