Photo: Jimmie Pride

OMAHA, NE. (NewsDakota.com) – The University of Jamestown Jimmies allowed Bellevue to get back within three points before closing the game on a 16-2 run to beat the Bruins 86-69 in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament.

The Jimmies dominated underneath throughout the entire game, as Mason Walters led all scorers with 30 points on 14-17 shooting. The GPAC Player of the Year missed just one of nine shots he took in the second half. Also down lown, senior Brady Birch had a perfect game, going 6-6 from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line for 16 total points.

Jamestown finished the game shooting above 60% from the floor as a team, and Marc Kjos led the guards in scoring with 12 points on four made threes. The Jimmies held Bellevue to just 25% from three-point range as Jamestown knocked down 42% of its attempts from deep.

On the glass, Jamestown didn’t allow the Bruins to grab a single offensive rebound and had 22 more boards than Bellevue. Eight total Jamestown players had at least one rebound, with five Jimmies grabbing five or more.

With the victory, Jamestown moves into the championship game for the Omaha B bracket and will take on #3 LSU-Shreveport tomorrow at 2 pm. The Pilots finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak, and are making their 17th consecutive tournament appearance. You can hear the full game on Jamestown 107.1.