BISMARCK, N.D. - The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team fell 78-56 at University of Mary Saturday in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game. For just the third time this season, BSU failed to shoot above 50 percent.

"We got blitzed," said head coach Matt Bowen. "I give Mary a lot of credit, they came out with a lot of energy and played good team defense. We didn't necessarily play poorly, we just didn't shoot the ball well in the first half and Mary shot 64 percent. It's a tough road trip."

The Beavers (5-5, 2-4 NSIC) and Marauders (7-3, 3-3 NSIC) were even for the first five minutes then U-Mary hit a 3-pointer to take an 11-9 lead with 14:35 minutes left in the first half. After the bucket the Marauders never relinquished the lead. BSU tied the contest twice, the last at 19-19 with 11:10 remaining, but an 11-0 run by the home team put the Beavers out of reach and U-Mary never looked back. At halftime the Marauders held a 41-23 lead, shooting 64 percent from the field and going 8-of-10 from 3-point land. The 23 points in the first half was the lowest output by BSU this season.

The Beavers came out in the second half with some fire and went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 10 at 43-33 with 15:20 remaining in regulation. U-Mary responded with a 6-0 run and took over the rest of the game, never letting the lead dip below 12, finishing with a 78-56 victory. The 56 points is the lowest by Bemidji State this season.

BSU had four players in double-figures, but no one with more than 11 points. Senior Patrick Cassidy (F, St. Paul, Minn.) and juniors Bryce Tesdahl (G, Crosby, Minn.) and James Ellisor (F, Glendale, Ariz.) all had 11 points, while adding four rebounds each.

BSU shot 39.1 percent from the field, while allowing U-Mary to shoot a strong 59.3 percent, by far the highest shooting percentage BSU has allowed and just the third time this season an opponent has shot above 50 percent. The Marauders made 10 3-pointers, shooting 52.6 percent from beyond the arc. U-Mary’s Anthony Moody scored 30 points, the most BSU has allowed an opponent this season.

The Beavers now have a few weeks off of competition for holiday break and will resume play Jan. 2, 2011 at University of Minnesota Duluth.

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