BISMARCK, N.D. (Activity Center) -- Freshman guard Bryce Tesdahl
(Crosby, Minn.) registered a career-high 18 points to lead four Beavers
in double-figure scoring as the Bemidji State University men’s
basketball team saw its season-long four game winning streak come to an
end with a 80-76 loss to University of Mary Saturday evening from the
Activity Center in Bismarck, N.D.
The
Beavers fall to 7-10 overall and 5-5 in the Northern Sun
Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with the loss while the Marauders
improve to 5-11 and 3-6 in the NSIC.
Joining Tesdahl in double-digit scoring were Seth Haake (Jr., G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) with 17, Jake Lindstrom (Fr., G, Cottage Grove, Minn.) chipping in 12 and Jimmy Johnson
(So., C, Andover, Minn.) coming off the bench to added 10. Johnson led
the Beavers on the boards with five rebounds with two block shots.
Mary’s
(N.D.) Geoff West paced a quartet of Marauders who recorded
double-figure scoring totals with a game-high 19 points on 5-of-11 from
the field, 3-of-6 from the three point line and 3-of-3 from the free
throw line. Jordan Wilhelm notched 15 points and a game-high eight
rebounds while Jason West and Mark Bakkum each added 11 points.
It
was the story of two halves for the Beavers basketball team on Saturday
night. Bemidji State started the game on a 5-0 run in the first 1:12 of
the game and was able to hold on to the lead the remainder of the half
despite a couple comeback attempts by the Marauders. UM eventually got
on the board at 17:53 off a couple free-throws by Danny Sandvig. BSU
went on a 9-0 run to push its lead to 12 (14-2) with just 3:44 gone in
the half. Haake netted seven of his seventeen points during the run.
A Patrick Cassidy
(So., G, St. Paul, Minn.) lay up just before the 10-minute mark gave
BSU its largest lead of the half at 25-7. Mary closed the gap to 10
points twice before the end of the first frame but a pair of
free-throws by Tesdahl with 17-seconds left before the half gave BSU a
46-31 lead heading into the locker rooms.
As
the teams came out of the break, BSU quickly extended its lead to its
largest of the game of 20-points (57-37) on back-to-back jumpers by
Tesdahl and Brady Fairbanks (So., G,
Bena, Minn.). At the 14:14 mark of the half the Beavers started to cool
off while the Marauders slowly started to heat up.
Mary
tightened up its defense and went on a 10-0 run to bring the score to
57-47 with just under 13-minutes to play. The Marauders kept chipping
away at the BSU lead and took its first lead of the game when Ryan Malm
made a lay up, putting UM up 65-64 with 6:41 left.
In
the final five minutes the teams traded baskets with all three tied
scores coming in the final five. With the score tied at 73-73 with 1:37
left the Marauders Jordan Wilhelm converted an old-fashioned
three-point play putting UM up 76-73. BSU had a couple chances to tie
the game in the next minute but could not convert. Geoff West and
Wilhelm sealed the win for UM at the free-throw line in the final
twelve seconds lifting the Marauders to a 80-76 win over BSU.
UM
finished the game with a 32-24 edge on the glass and used a 15-of-26
effort from the floor during the second half to complete the game
24-of-49 (.490) in the comeback. BSU was 25-of-49 (.510) from the
field, 6-of-14 (.429) from behind the arc and 20-of-26 (.769) from the
charity stripe in the loss.
With the loss
Bemidji State falls to 1-7 all-time versus the Marauders and are now in
sole possession of eighth with a 5-5 record.
Bemidji
State (7-10; 5-5 NSIC) is back in action next weekend when the Beavers
hit the road to take on Minnesota Duluth. The Beavers will face off
with Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 24 at Romano Gymnasium. Tip off is set
for 8 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--
