KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bemidji State University Men's Basketball earned their first win of the season during day two of the Central Region Challenge, defeating University of Arkansas-Monticello 64-55.
The Beavers and Boll Weevils kept things close in the first part of the first 20 minutes of play. This was until the Boll Weevils began to pull away, which was stopped with the Beavers flipped the script and created a nine-point lead heading into halftime. The second half was all BSU with the Beavers holding a lead of at least four points for the entire half. At their peak, the Beavers marked a lead of 15 points over the Boll Weevils with just over three minutes remaining.
Malang Athian led the Beavers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, grabbing the first double double game of the regular season. Along with Athian,
Tate Olson marked his first double double of the season with 12 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds four assists. Athian went 6-10 on field goals, 3-6 from the arc and 4-4 on free throws. Olson found five of his seven field goal attempts making it into the hoop and went two-for-four from the three.
Defensively, Athian stopped the Boll Weevils from scoring with blocks on two occasions.
Christian Koonce also found one block this afternoon, in addition to his eight points.
Jareon Mayo and
Peyton Newbern each marked two steals while Athian, Olson and
Brayden Williams each grabbed ones of their own.
As a whole, the Beavers went 21-47 on field goals, outshooting the Boll Weevils 44.7 percent to 38.3 percent. From the arc, BSU shot .400 percent and went 14-22 from the free-throw line. They marked 26 points in the paint, nine off turnovers, eight on second chance opportunities, 15 off fast breaks and 17 off the bench.
The team returns home to host a non-conference game against the Valley City State University Vikings Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. They'll then host the University of Minnesota Morris Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. before heading to Florida the following week to take on Barry University and Lynn University.
For more information on the Bemidji State Men's Basketball program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversMBB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and like them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversMBB).
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's 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).
