BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Senior Seth Haake
(G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored a team-high 23 points to surpass 1,000
career points, guiding the Bemidji State University men’s
basketball team to a thrilling 71-69 victory against University of
Minnesota Duluth in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest
at the BSU Gymnasium Saturday. BSU erased an 11-point UMD lead in the
final 5:08 to play in regulation to earn the victory, holding the
Bulldogs to zero points in that time span.
BSU needed its last possession to overcome UMD’s nine second half 3-pointers, getting a freshman Lance Rongstad
(G, Eleva, Wis.) lay-up with 12 seconds remaining on the game clock to
go ahead by two. The Bulldogs (7-11, 4-7 NSIC) forced-up a 3-point shot
as time expired, but it fell short, giving the Beavers (7-10, 4-7 NSIC)
back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 5 and 12. In the last
meeting between the two teams in the BSU Gymnasium, Feb. 25, 2009, the
game needed four overtime period to decide a winner. The Bulldogs
prevailed with a 126-124 win that would go on to set the NSIC record
for most points by a team in a game (126) and total points in a game
(250).
“This was a big team win,” said head coach Matt Bowen.
“Our guys were able to overcome a team that shot 14 3-pointers.
We got some key stops late in the game and were fortunate to win.”
Haake
now owns 1,003 career points, becoming the first BSU player to reach
the milestone since All-America Charles Hanks accomplished the feat
from 2001-04.
“Seth has been a quality
player and our go-to guy for the last year and a half,” Bowen
said. “He has tremendous skills on and off the court and will be
sorely missed. I’m glad to have a model like Seth to show our
young players, as we continue to build this program.”
Haake
shot 7-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-4 from 3-point land and 6-of-7 from
the free throw line in the game, adding five rebounds. BSU hit 8-of-15
(53.3%) 3-pointers in the game, matching UMD’s 3-point
percentage, but not its output as the road team went 14-for-26 (53.8%)
from downtown. Six of those bombs came in a 4:48 time span during the
second half that flipped a seven point BSU lead into a nine point
advantage for the Bulldogs. BSU combated the hot 3-point shooting from
UMD by getting to the free throw line, going 15-of-21, while the
Bulldogs were only 7-of-13.
The Bulldogs
jumped out to a 11-5 lead in the game’s first four minutes, but
the Beavers fired-up and went on a 17-2 run to take a 22-13 lead with
9:13 reading on the clock. BSU got scoring from five different players
in the run, with Haake leading the way with six. The Beavers continued
to out-work UMD in the first half, holding a nine point lead with 2:51
left in the frame. The Bulldogs then closed the half with a 8-2 run,
which included a 3-pointer from UMD’s Ryan Rasmussen as time
expired, to cut the deficit to three heading into the locker room.
BSU
was able to maintain a small lead through the first eight minutes of
the second half, but then UMD started shooting the lights out of the
50-year-old BSU Gymnasium, getting 3-pointers from four different
players during the game-changing run through the middle of the frame.
The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 11 with 5:08 left on the clock off
a Rasmussen shot from beyond the arc that gave him eight 3-pointers and
29 points in the game. The Beavers then bore-down on defense and
shut-out the road team for the remainder of the game.
A
Rongstad lay-up started the comeback with 4:53 left on the clock.
Four-straight points from Haake that put him over the 1,000 point
threshold cut the deficit to five with 3:31 remaining. Two clutch free
throws from freshman Burke Lendl (F, St. Michael,
Minn.) made the game a one possession contest with 2:17 left. A UMD
turnover on the next trip down the court led to the biggest shot in
freshman Mason Walters’ (G/F, Milton, Wis.)
young career, as he tickled the twine with a 3-point dagger from atop
the key to tie the game 69-69 with 2:04 ticks on the clock. Sophomore Bryce Tesdahl
(G, Crosby, MInn.) earned his sixth assist on the play. BSU survived
the Bulldogs’ attempt to retake the lead, which included two
tries, one of which was a 3-point shot from Rasmussen. On the
Beavers’ attempt earn an advantage, Rongstad turned the ball over
to give UMD another chance. Haake pulled-down a rebound off missed
Bulldog lay-up and started BSU’s final possession. After moving
the ball around the perimitter, Lendl found Rongstad down-low and he
redeemed his turnover with a lay-up with just 12 seconds left. All
game, UMD had been doing a good job of collapsing on Rongstad in the
low post, but this time it was a free pass to the hoop. Instead of
driving the lane and forcing a foul, the Bulldogs stuck with their
bread and butter of the evening and tried for a 3-point shot that would
win the game. Fortunataly for BSU, UMD didn’t hit its 15th
3-pointer of the game and the Beavers held on to victory.
Rongstad
finished with 15 points in the game. Walters contributed 12 points and
three rebounds, shooting 2-of-3 from 3-point land. Tesdahl had eight
rebounds, six assists and four points. BSU was 47.1 percent from the
field and UMD was 39.3 percent.
The Beavers
travel to Minnesota State University, Mankato and Southwest Minnesota
State University Jan. 29-30, with both games slated 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).
--bsu--
