ST. CLOUD, Minn. – With the seconds ticking down, Dalton Albrecht came up big collecting the missed shot and his put back just beat the buzzer to send the Bemidji State University Men's Basketball team to the thrilling 103-102 double overtime win at St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.
It's the first overtime game for Bemidji State (8-4, 4-2 NSIC) since the home game against Sioux Falls earlier this year on Jan. 28. This is the first double overtime game since the 2019-20 season when the Beavers went double overtime at Upper Iowa. BSU ended up playing back-to-back overtime games that season having gone an extra session the week before at home against Northern State. It was the first win in overtime for the Beavers since the 2012-13 season defeating MSU Moorhead at home that season. Bemidji State and St. Cloud State played another double overtime game not that long ago on Jan. 5, 2019, in Bemidji in which the Huskies won by a score of 107-101.
This win also moved head coach Mike Boschee to second on the program all-time wins list at 143.
BSU was in control through the first few minutes of the second half holding the 56-47 lead on a three-pointer by Brayden Williams. Midway through the half, the lead was still resting at seven following free throws by John Sutherland.
St. Cloud State (5-5, 2-4 NSIC) answered with a 9-0 run to move ahead at 68-66 with 8:52 to play. From that point on, the teams stayed within three points of each other for the rest of regulation.
Bemidji State had the three-point lead at 78-75 on a layup by Williams with 6:14 to play. SCSU reeled off the next five points to push in front at 80-78. After the teams tied at 82 and at 84, a pair of free throws by Sutherland pushed the Beavers ahead at 86-84 with a minute to play.
SCSU missed on their ensuing possession which gave the Beavers a chance to go ahead by two possessions, but a missed jumper gave the Huskies a chance to tie or go ahead with 22 seconds to play. Lucas Morgan tied the game with a layup with 13 seconds left.
The Beavers pushed the ball and couldn't get set to run a play and were forced to call timeout with two seconds left. Out of the timeout, BSU was whistled for a traveling violation which sent the game into overtime tied at 86.
The Huskies surged to start the first overtime scoring the first four points in 44 seconds. That lead remained at three when Albrecht hit a layup and Sutherland split two from the line to tie the game at 92 with just over a minute remaining.
Each team had a chance to go in front over the final minute with the Huskies missing a jumper and the Beavers missing a layup. With 27 seconds to play, SCSU had one last chance but a strong defensive set by the Beavers forced the Huskies to take a tough three-pointer that missed sending the game to a second overtime.
Bemidji State opened the second overtime strong with Sutherland hitting a layup and after SCSU answered, Davis drilled another triple for the 97-94 lead.
A pair of Davis free throws had the lead out to four at 99-95. The Huskies scored the next five points to regain the lead at 100-99 with 1:31 to play. Albrecht answered with a layup with 1:12 to play for the 101-100 lead.
SCSU missed their ensuing three-point try and then the Beavers turned the ball over giving SCSU a chance to go ahead with 13 seconds to play. Jamiir Allen went quick and converted the layup for the 102-101 lead with seven seconds left.
That still gave the Beavers some time for a winning play. In-bounding at half court, Davis caught the ball and tried to hit the runner, but his shot rolled out. Coming off the weak side was Albrecht who secured the rebound and then hit the put back as the buzzer sounded for the 103-102 double overtime victory.
Early on, Bemidji State jumped out to the five-point lead at 16-11 on a layup by Albrecht five minutes in. After SCSU came back to take a two-point lead, the Beavers started to build the lead.
With seven minutes to play before the half, Davis hit two from the line to push the lead to 10 at 35-25. The lead reached 14 a couple of times on a three-pointer by Albrecht and then on a layup by Sutherland with 3:29 to play.
The Huskies made a push, but the Beavers took the 47-38 lead into halftime.
Just a few days after Davis posted his best game with the Beavers with 21 points, he came back on Saturday collecting 28 points that included six three-pointers. He also grabbed five rebounds and had two assists. Davis was on fire at the foul line going a perfect 10-10. Albrecht scored a season-high 25 points on 9-16 shooting, added a pair of three-pointers and went 5-6 from the foul line. Albrecht just missed another double-double with nine rebounds. Sutherland tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He went 9-12 from the foul line. Williams added 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. He connected on a trio of three-pointers. John Pecarich added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Bemidji State went 31-65 (47.7) from the field, 13-26 (50) from three and 28-33 (84.8) at the foul line. BSU went 9-16 from three alone in the first half. The Beavers had four players play at least 43 minutes. Davis led the way with 48 minutes, Williams with 45, Sutherland at 44 and Albrecht at 43. St. Cloud State went 35-70 (50) from the field, 11-34 (32.4) from three and 21-27 (77.8) at the foul line.
With other results from around the NSIC, Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead remain tied at the top both 6-0. Minnesota Duluth is third at 5-1. Bemidji State and Minot State are tied for fourth at 4-2. Winona State is right behind in sixth at 4-3. There's still one game left to go on the Saturday schedule with Southwest Minnesota State playing at Augustana.
Bemidji State will now be off for the holiday break until Jan. 5 when they will travel to Marshall, Minn., to face Southwest Minnesota State beginning at 5:30 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).
