ST. CLOUD, Minn. (Hallenbeck Hall) -- Bemidji State University junior Seth Haake (G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) posted 10 points Saturday, but it would not be enough as St. Cloud State University used a 46-percent second-half shooting effort to blow past the Beavers en route to a 69-51 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory at Hallenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn.

In the first 20 minutes the Beavers claimed a 21-15 edge on the glass and shot better than 44 percent as the Beavers went into the locker room up three, 30-27, at the break. But in a classic tale of Jekyl and Hyde, BSU came out of the intermission a different team.

In the second half, BSU was out rebounded 21-16, was out shot 46.3-to-30.4 percent, committed 10 turnovers and saw its three-point halftime lead flip to a 15-point deficit (64-49) with 2:26 to go in the final stanza.

SCSU’s Matt Schneck and Spencer Bartz each had a game-high 12 points while Andrew Bernstetter chipped in 10 for the Huskies. Schneck and Brett Carmichael each had a game-high eight rebounds while reigning NSIC Player of the Week Taylor Witt dished out a game-high seven assists.

Haake posted his fifteenth double-figure scoring total of the season and tenth in a row netting 10 points on 4-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-2 from downtown. Patrick Cassidy (So., F, St. Paul, Minn.) and Brady Fairbanks (So., G, Bena, Minn.) each had eight points while Fairbanks, Haake and Bryce Tesdahl (Fr., G, Crosby, Minn.) each grabbed six rebounds.

As the game got underway, the teams would each go on short runs to grab the lead. SCSU would start first using a three by Burnstetter and three free-throws by Schneck followed by a lay up by Witt to jump out to a four-point lead, 8-4, 3:51 into the contest.

BSU would respond with a 13-2 steak of its own to go ahead, 17-10 which was capped off by a Tesdahl jumper. SCSU came back to tie the score twice in the next 10-minutes of the half and eventually regained a one point advantage (27-26) with 3:04 left before the halftime break. BSU scored the final four points of the half on a pair of lay ups by Fairbanks and Tesdahl to take a 30-27 halftime lead into the intermission.

The Beavers pushed its lead to six (36-30) before the 16-minute mark of the second half as a pair of lay ups by Fairbanks and Haake followed by a Taylor Hall (Fr., F, Blaine, Minn.) jumper got the Beavers started right in the second half.

The Huskies stunned BSU during the next 4:56 netting the next 14 points to take a eight point lead, 44-36, before 8:17 had come off the clock.

BSU scratched its way back into the game, closing the lead to three (50-47) on a Haake three with 6:10 to go, but the team would score just four points in the remainder of the game going 0-for-7 from the field and turning the ball over twice before the final horn sounded.

BSU finished the night 20-of-52 (.385) from the floor, 3-of-19 (.158) from downtown and 8-of-12 (.667) from the stripe. BSU held a 37-36 edge on the boards but committed 11 more turnovers (20-9) than the Huskies in the game.

St. Cloud State takes a 88-41 lead in the all-time series with the win.

Bemidji State (7-15; 5-10 NSIC) will be back in action next weekend when the Beavers host Minnesota State University, Moorhead and the University of Minnesota, Crookston on Feb. 13-14 from the BSU Gymnasium. Game times are scheduled for 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evening.

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

--beavers--