ST. PAUL, Minn. (Gangelhoff Center) -- The Bemidji State University
men’s basketball team was defeated 85-73 by Concordia University,
St. Paul at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn. on Friday night.
BSU sophomore’s Jimmy Johnson (Andover, Minn.) and Tyler Wruck (Foley, Minn.) netted career-highs with 18 and 14 points, respectively as BSU dropped its fifth consecutive game.
The Beavers opened up the scoring with a jumper by Brady Fairbanks
(So., G, Bena, Minn.) to take a 2-0 lead 49-seconds in, but the Golden
Bears netted the next six points to take their first lead of the game,
6-2, and the only one they would need as they never trailed again.
A lay up by Jake Lindstrom
(Fr., G, Cottage Grove, Minn.) kept the lead at four (13-9) in favor of
CU with 15:56 left in the half, but a 15-8 run by the Golden Bears
capped off by a four-point play by Sammy Ricks gave CU a 28-17 lead
before the 11-minute mark. The Golden Bears continued to stay hot as
they pushed their lead to 20 (44-24) with 4:19 left in the half but a
9-2 run by the Beavers to close out the half cut CU’s lead to 13
(46-33) by the intermission break.
CU held a
20-16 edge on the glass, while converting on 16-of-35 attempts (45.7)
from the field and outshot the Beavers at the free-throw line 8-of-10
(80.0 percent) to 4-of-7 (57.1 percent.) BSU was 12-of-27 from the
floor (44.4 percent) in the first frame.
Craig
Heiman got CU rolling right away in the second half as he scored seven
of the half’s first 11 points and adding an assist as Concordia
University extended its advantage to 20 points (55-35) with just over
17 minutes to play in the game.
BSU crept to
within 12 points (63-51) before the 12-minute mark but CU would make
another run outscoring the Beavers 14-2 over the next five minutes
extending its lead to 24-points (77-53), largest of the game.
BSU
reeled the Golden Bears back to within 10 points on four different
occasions in the final 2:35 but CU would slam the door on the Beavers
trading baskets with BSU in the final minutes including a perfect
4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The Beavers
were 29-of-61 from the field (47.5 percent), 8-of-20 from behind the
arc (40.0 percent) and 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
BSU committed 14 turnovers and finished the game with a 38-35
rebounding advantage.
Johnson’s
career-high 18 points paced the Beavers while he also posted a
team-high eight rebounds. Wruck also added a career-high with 14 points
while Seth Haake (Jr., G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) extended his streak to nine games with double-digit points as he finished with 10.
All
five Golden Bear starters reached double-figures led by Matt
Cadwell’s 24 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-8 from
behind the arc while going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Sammy Ricks added 14 points and a game-high four steals while Matt
Hackl and Mike Cunningham chipped in 13 points apiece with Craig Heiman
netting 11. Cunningham grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the games
lone double-double and he dished out a game-high six assists.
The loss drops CU to 12-8 all-time versus the Golden Bears.
The
loss drops the Beavers to 7-14 overall and 5-9 in NSIC play. Bemidji
State will wrap up its weekend at St. Cloud State tomorrow evening.
Game time is set for 8 p.m. from Hallenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn.
Bemidji
State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II
institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
(NSIC).
--beavers--
