WINONA, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Men's Basketball team bounced back after a tough setback the night before, by defeating Winona State University 65-61 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Saturday night in Winona, Minn. The Beavers (10-6, 5-5 NSIC) earned their 10
th win of the season for first time since the 2019-20 season when BSU won 14 games.
Mohamed Kone put up another strong performance this weekend with a game-high 21 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists against the Warriors (9-6, 4-6 NSIC).
The Beavers started the game off trailing by five early, before a pair of three-point shots from
Dalton Albrecht ignited a quick 8-0 counter run with Kone capping the spurt with a layup. Through the first 10 minutes, both teams traded off shots with Winona State holding the slight 11-10 lead at the media timeout near the midway point of the half. With under three minutes to play in the opening half, WSU took a five-point lead, but BSU was able to climb back to take a one-point lead with one minute left on the clock on a jumper by
Johnny Tennyson. The Warriors scored four of the final five points of the half to hold the 29-27 lead at the break.
Starting the second half, the Beavers took the lead with a Kone three that followed a layup by
Brayden Williams to move BSU back in front at 32-29. After some back-and-forth action, BSU was able to stretch the lead out to five at 40-35 on a
RJ Smith hook shot. That lead did not last long with the Warriors going on a 6-1 run to even the score at 41 with 13:28 to play. The Beavers started to gain separation with another deep shot from Kone to extend their lead to seven with just over 10 minutes to play, as BSU answered the Warriors run with a 7-0 burst in just under two minutes of play. Some costly turnovers turned the lead over to WSU, who came back with a 15-5 run over the next couple of minutes that was capped off by a dunk from Luke Martens that left the Warriors with the 56-53 lead at the 6:43 mark. Following a Kone layup,
John Sutherland came up big converting a three-point play at the 4:47 mark that moved BSU back in front for good at 58-56. After moving the lead out to five, Winona State tried to make a late comeback, but the Beaver defense forced four missed three-pointers before Kone's pair of free throws sealed the win.
Kone was the leading scorer for the second straight night for Bemidji State, with 19 of his 21 points coming in the second half. Kone shot 8-for-14 from the field, 3-for-7 from three and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Sutherland reached 18 points for the second consecutive night. Albrecht and Williams finished with eight points apiece. Not only did Kone pace the team in scoring, he dished out a team-best three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
Sutherland recorded his fifth double-double of the season with his team leading 12 rebounds, with 11 coming on the defensive glass. Sutherland was responsible for more than a third of the team's total in rebounds of 33. Smith played a big role on the boards as well grabbing eight key rebounds. BSU made the most of its few offensive rebounds, turning the three they grabbed into nine second chance points. Sutherland recorded both blocks for the Beavers, his fourth game with two swatted shots.
The victory over the Warriors snaps a three-game losing streak in the series and is the first road win for the Beavers at Winona State since the 2012-13 season.
The Beavers return home this weekend as they welcome Concordia University-St. Paul and Minnesota State University, Mankato for NSIC action. BSU starts the weekend off hosting the Golden Bears on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the BSU Gymnasium.
For more information on the Bemidji State Men's basketball program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Multimedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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