MANKATO, Minn. (Taylor Center) - The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team fell to Minnesota State University Thursday night in a nonconference tilt at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.

The Mavericks led from wire to wire forcing the Beavers into 24 turnovers and out rebounding the Beavers 41-to-30 en route to claiming their ninth win of the season as they improve to 9-2 overall, 81-56.

For the first time this season the Beavers did not have a player score in double-figures as they had three players net eight points to led the way. Senior Arron Evans (Minneapolis, Minn.), sophomore Seth Haake (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and freshman Tyler Wruck (Foley, Minn.) each had eight points in the loss for the Beavers. The eight points was a career-high for Wruck. Alex Smith (Jr., F/C, Miami, Fla.) chipped in seven points and had three blocks in the game for the Beavers.

Atila Santos led a quartet of Mavericks in double-figures scoring a game-high 22 points making good on 7-of-9 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Jake Marrow added 15 points while Marcus Hill and Joe Drapcho added 10 points apiece. Santos led all players on the boards with 12 rebounds to go with his 22 points to help give the Mavericks a 11 rebound edge over the Beavers (41-30).

The Mavericks got out of the blocks quickly hitting their first three shots of the night, as Santos made his first two attempts and Preston Whitaker knocked down his first attempt to give the Mavericks a early 6-2 advantage. BSU’s Smith gave the Beavers their lone tie of the contest when he knotted the game at 2-2 at 19:08 of the half.

At 9:09 of the half a pair of Santos free throws would give the Mavericks its second double-digit lead of the half at 23-13. The Beavers were unable to get any closer than 10 points the rest of the half as the Mavericks pushed their lead to as large as 19 points (34-15) and eventually took a 17 point lead into halftime (41-24).

Minnesota State would come out of the break going on a 22-5 run in the first 7:41 of the half to stretch its lead to 34 points (63-29), putting the game out of reach for the Beavers midway through the second half.

The Mavericks would keep the Beavers at bay as the clock wound down claiming the nonconference victory, 81-56.

Minnesota State outshot the Beavers .441 (26-59) to .423 (22-52) in the game and .852 (23-27) to .571 (8-14) for from the free throw line.

The loss for the Beavers drop them to 3-8 on the season and 33-59 all-time versus Minnesota State. The Mavericks improve to 9-2 with the win over the Beavers.

Bemidji State will next be in action on Saturday, Dec. 29, when they will take on the North Dakota Fighting Sioux from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--beavers--