MANKATO, Minn. – With 15:08 remaining in the second half, senior forward James Ellisor (Glendale, Ariz.) converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play from the line to record his 1,000th career point at Bemidji State University to become the 15th BSU player to reach the 1,000 career point plateau. In all Ellisor contributed 30 points in the 78-64 victory at Minnesota State University, Mankato Saturday. BSU improves to 19-7 overall and 14-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
The 30 point performance by Ellisor is the third of the season, the last of which, was a career-tying 34 points against MSU Jan. 20 at home. He now has 564 points this season to rank sixth on the BSU single season points chart. In the game he went 10-for-17 (58.9%) from the field, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. He added five rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of play.
Sophomore Zach Noreen (F, Avon, Minn.) finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-5 from the line in his second straight start. Junior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Eleva, Wis.) had 12 points and four rebounds for BSU, while senior Bryce Tesdahl (G, Crosby, Minn.) posted 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. With eight assists on the weekend Tesdahl moves ahead of his 2010-11 assists total for second on the BSU single season assists list with 158. He is 10 helpers shy of the program record. In conference games only, he has totaled 132 assists, just seven shy of the NSIC record for assists in a season.
The Beavers shot 51.7 percent in the second half to finish with a 46.7 percentage from the field. MSU shot 46.4 percent from the field. BSU went 16-for-18 from the charity stripe for an 84.2 percentage. The win makes 19 for the 2011-12 squad, matching the win total from the 1966-67 and 1972-73 seasons, while sitting just one short of the program-record of 20 wins, set in 2003-04.
The Beavers jumped out to a five point lead at 8-3 two minutes into the contest and was able to extend that lead to eight at 20-12 with 10:41 remaining in the first half. BSU pushed the advantage to 10 at 30-20 with 5:02 remaining, but got out of its offensive system, which enabled the Mavericks to post an 8-0 run to get within two with 1:24 showing on the game clock.
A jumper from Ellisor broke the MSU run and a lay-up at the halftime buzzer by sophomore Jake Schalow (G, Kaukauna, Wis.) handed the road team a 34-30 lead heading into the locker room. BSU shot 41.9 percent in the frame and the Mavericks were 42.9 percent . Ellisor guided the team in scoring with 14 points and four assists.
The squads traded buckets to open the second half to a 40-36 lead by BSU with 18:05 left in the final 20 minutes. The Beavers then posted a 10-4 run to take a double-digit advantage at 50-40 on Ellisor’s 1,000th point.
A Tesdahl 3-pointer with 12:16 to play handed the Beavers a 58-44 lead, but MSU responded and cut the deficit to six at 60-54 with 8:12 to go in the half. Ellisor then took over and five consecutive points from the NSIC points leader gave the road team a 67-54 lead with 6:39 showing on the game clock.
A little run by the Mavericks got them within 10 at 71-61 with 3:14 showing on the clock, but that would be as close as the home team would get, as BSU finished the last three minutes on a 7-3 run to own the 14 point victory.
The regular comes to an end Feb. 24-25 at BSU Gymnasium, as Upper Iowa University and Winona State University make the trek north to Bemidji.
BSU's Top Career Scoring Totals/1,000 Point Club
# Pts. Player Seasons
1. 2,034 David Lee 1984-88
2. 1,613 Charles Hanks 2001-04
3. 1,462 Mac Smith 1997-01
4. 1,410 Mark Carlin 1963-67
5. 1,361 Scott Kramer 1991-94
6. 1,335 Tony Brown 1986-91
7. 1,272 Frank Kopetka 1972-75
8. 1,251 Steve Vogel 1975-78
9. 1,222 Irv St. John 1950-54
10. 1,202 Seth Haake 2006-10
11. 1,190 David Muelken 1984-88
12. 1,158 Dale Harper 1983-87
13. 1,125 Kevin Nichols 1992, 1994
14. 1,112 Teaser Sweeney 1989-93
15. 1,013 James Ellisor 2010-present
Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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