KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Bemidji State University Men's Basketball team saw Missouri Southern pull ahead late in the second half and hold off any comeback attempt as the Lions claimed the 69-61 victory on Saturday in Kansas City.
Missouri Southern (1-1) quickly went in front 8-5 over the first five minutes. Bemidji State (1-1) responded with the next eight points. Dalton Albrecht, John Sutherland and Colin Schaefer all tallied layups to push BSU to the 13-8 lead.
Bemidji State held the Lions without a point for over five minutes until a Darius Dawson jumper at the 9:55 mark snapped the run and left BSU with the three-point lead.
Back-to-back triples by Brayden Williams and Albrecht had the Beavers holding their five-point lead again at 19-14. Missouri Southern closed the half strong outscoring BSU 13-7 to take the 27-26 lead at the break.
Missouri Southern had the lead out to five at 36-31 just over three minutes into the second half. Trailing by six, the Beavers came back with a 9-0 run in a two-minute span to regain the lead. Albrecht hit a three to open the run, with Schaefer and Sutherland adding layups around a jumper by Williams for the 43-40 advantage.
It was a tight battle from that point on with the teams trading small leads. With BSU in front by one, Sutherland pushed Bemidji State to the 51-48 lead at the 7:35 mark.
The Lions then caught fire reeling off a 11-1 run to take the 59-52 lead with 3:26 to play. The Beavers kept fighting getting to within three following a pair of layups by Sutherland. That would be as close as Bemidji State would get the rest of the way with Missouri Southern closing the game on a 10-5 run to take the 69-61 victory.
Sutherland tallied a game-high 22 points and added six rebounds. Albrecht went for a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Williams added 11 points and five rebounds. Schaefer had a team-high seven assists, while adding eight points.
Bemidji State went 24-58 (41.4) from the field, 7-23 (30.4) from three and 6-13 (46.2) at the foul line.
Missouri Southern went 26-56 (46.4) from the field, 3-17 (17.6) from three and 14-16 (87.5) from the foul line.
The Beavers held the edge in second chance points (13-4) and a slight edge in fastbreak points (6-4).
Bemidji State will now return home to host Northland on Tuesday night starting at 6 p.m.
For more information on the Bemidji State Men's Basketball program, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversMBB). Like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversMBB).
Nestled in Northern Minnesota's wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, BSU 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).
