BEMIDJI, Minn.- The Bemidji State University Beavers Brady Fairbanks (Fr., G/F, Bena, Minn.) scored a game high 16 on 6-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the Beavers 72-47 setback at the hands of No. 3 in the nation the Winona State University Warriors at the BSU Gymnasium.

Fairbank’s 16 was one shy of his career high which was set back on November 24, 2007 against the Puget Sound. Fairbanks was the lone Beaver in double figures with Jimmy Johnson (Fr., C, Andover, Minn.) tying a career high in blocks swatting away four while chipping in seven points and grabbing a team high eight rebounds.

The Warriors found scoring from a number of players as they had four in double figures, led by David Johnson who had 12. John Smith added 11 while Jonte Flowers and Ben Fischer each had 10.

Winona State gained the lead at 2-0 on a Quincy Henderson layup at the 19:50 mark and never surrendered the lead. The Beavers hung tough with the Warriors for the first 5:19 of the game as a layup by Seth Haake (So., G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) cut the Warrior lead to one at 8-7. From there the Warriors were able to take control of the game and by the half had pushed their lead to 22 at 37-15.

On the half the Warriors shot .467 on 14-of-30 from the field and 1-of-9 from the trifecta. The Beavers were hurt by turnovers as they committed 12 on the half and ended the game with 24.

Winona State struggled in the second half shooting only .250 on 8-of-32 from the field compared to the Beavers .423 (11-of-26) but Bemidji State’s superior second half shooting wasn’t enough to pick up any momentum as the Warriors were able to walk away with a 25 point victory.

The all-time record between the two teams now stands at 66-78 and is the fourth consecutive victory for the Warriors.

The loss is the second straight loss against a nationally ranked opponent as they were defeated by then No. 5 ranked Northern State 79-55 back on February 16th.

Bemidji State’s record moves to (6-20; 3-14 NSIC) while the Warriors improve to (28-1; 17-0 NSIC).

The Beavers will conclude their season on Saturday as they host the Upper Iowa Peacocks at 8:00 p.m. in the BSU Gymnasium on senior night.

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

--Beavers--