BISMARCK, N.D. – The Bemidji State University Men's Basketball team defeated the University of Mary 90-71 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Saturday afternoon to ensure a top half finish in the North Division. The pair of John Sutherland and Mohamed Kone finished with over 20 points for the fourth time this season. The pair combined for 48 points, with Sutherland tallying 26.
 
Bemidji State, after starting off slow on the road to being the season, improve to 5-6 in away action after sweeping the weekend. BSU has won three straight away from Bemidji and four of their last five on the road. The Beavers improve to 16-8 on the season and 11-7 in the conference, while the Marauders fell to 11-11 on the season and 7-11 in the NSIC. BSU, now four games clear of both Minot State and Mary for fourth in the North Division, are in line to host a first round conference playoff game The Beavers are also closing in on the third spot in the division with Minnesota Duluth at 12-6 in NSIC play after going 1-1 this weekend.
 
The Beavers have been dominating in the first half for the last few games and the streak continued tonight pulling out to a quick 12-point lead after shooting 7-for-11 from the field while holding the Marauders to six points, shooting 2-for-7. It was a 18-6 start for BSU over the first six-plus minutes of the game. With BSU holding the 8-4 lead over the first two-plus minutes with all the points being scored by Sutherland, the strong start was just getting started. Over the next 10 minutes, BSU went on a 24-2 run to open an impressive 32-6 lead. During that stretch, the Beavers forced five turnovers, with Brayden Williams coming away with two steals. After going eight minutes without scoring, Jeremiah Jones made a triple to end the dry spell for Mary. The Marauders started to find their footing after trading off triples with the Beavers, but it was still a healthy 45-28 lead for Bemidji State at the half.
 
BSU continued to stay above the 50-percent mark after the first half going 17-for-33 from the field and 7-for-17 (41.2) from three. Sutherland and Mohamed Kone broke into double-figures in the first 20 minutes with Sutherland leading with 14 points and Kone tallied 11. Jayce Lowman, returning to his home state, dropped three from behind the arc to finish with nine first half points.
 
Sutherland started the scoring for the Beavers in the second half with a fast break dunk assisted by Williams, his fourth of the game. Albrecht converted a three-point play assisted by Sutherland to push the lead back to 20 at 54-34. Kone came away with a steal and slammed it down to go up 56-34 on the next possession near the 13-minute mark. RJ Smith became the fifth BSU student-athlete to knock down a three keeping the large lead alive. The Marauders would start to get some momentum, but the Beavers followed them in suit keeping their lead no smaller than 15. In the final two minutes, Mary got hot from three, but it was a little too late with the Beavers cruising to the 90-71 road victory.
  
Sutherland and Kone had another big game leading the way for the Beavers. Sutherland led all-scorers with 26 points shooting 61.1-percent from the field and Kone was right behind at 22 points. Kone went 9-17 from the field. Albrecht had the best shooting percentage on the team at 75-percent from the field resulting in 17 points. He made an impressive 6-8 from the field and went 5-5 at the foul line. Bemidji State recorded 25 assists, its second-best performance of the year, as every student-athlete who saw the court finished with at least one assist. Sutherland led that category as well with seven and Williams was one behind with six. 
 
Kone fell two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight leading the Beavers, with Sutherland on his tail with seven. BSU and Mary both finished with 29 rebounds, with the Marauders finishing with 10 offensive rebounds to the Beavers' eight. Bemidji State forced 13 turnovers with nine steals, its second most this season. Sutherland led the charge with three, while Smith, Kone and Williams all finished a two. BSU held strong advantages in points off turnovers (16-12) and points in the paint (44-32).
        
Bemidji State will return home for its last full home stand of the regular season as the Beavers welcome Northern State University on Friday, following Minnesota State University, Moorhead Saturday. The game against the Wolves on Friday will tip at 5:30 p.m. while the game on Saturday against the Dragons will start at 3:30 p.m. The game on Saturday will also be Senior Day. The extended home stand will go into the following week, as the Beavers will face St. Cloud State on Thursday (Feb. 16) beginning at 5:30 p.m.
 
   
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).