BEMIDJI, Minn.- The Bemidji State University Beavers hung tough with another Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe but were unable to prevail as the University of Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears came away with a 68-62 victory at the BSU Gymnasium.

The Golden Bears overcame a nine point defecit at half off of a strong team performance as the Golden Bears had five players in double figures. Concordia-St. Paul was led by Mike Cunningham who scored a team high 15. James Metcalf came away with 10 points and pulled down a game high 12 rebounds. Matt Cadwell scored 14 while Craig Heiman chipped in 13 and Chuol Chany had 11 along with six steals.

The Beavers were led by Alex Smith (Jr., C, Miami, Fla.) who had a game high 19 points along with four blocks. Arron Evans (Sr., G, Minneapolis, Minn.) brought in 11 for Bemidji State while Patrick Cassidy (Fr., F, St. Paul, Minn.) contributed 10.

Bemidji State started out the game strong as they shot .516 (16-of-31) from the field including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. The Beavers also played stingy defense as they held the Golden Bears to 29 points on 11-of-32 shooting (.344) and saw themselves trailing by eight at 37-29 at halftime. The Beavers largest lead came at the 1:58 mark when Seth Haake (So., G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) hit one from down town to put the Beavers up 35-26.

The second half was a different story as Concordia-St. Paul shot a sizzling .552 (16-of-29) from the field to turn the tide and escape with a victory. The Golden Bears were helped by the Beavers 12 turnovers in the half which led to 19 points.

Concordia-St. Paul started out on a 9-0 run in the first 2:50 of the second half to give them the lead 38-37. The game went back and forth from that point until the 10:12 mark when Cunningham sparked a 6-0 run on a layup that gave the Golden Bears their final lead of the night.

For the game the Beavers out shot the Golden Bears .510 (25-of-49) to .443 (27-61). Concordia-St. Paul turned the ball over only nine times compared to the Beavers 19.

The win moves Concordia-St. Paul’s record to (11-9; 5-6 NSIC ) while the Beavers fall to (5-16; 2-10 NSIC).

Bemidji State will finish up its weekend homestand as they face the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

--Beavers--