Men’s Basketball opens season series versus Minot State, UMary

Bemidji State University men’s basketball welcomes Minot State University and University of Mary to BSU Gymnasium Jan. 24-25 for a matchup between Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division opponents. BSU and MiSU tip-off the weekend at 7:30 p.m. Friday before BSU and UMary begin play at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Bemidji State leads the all-time series against Minot State, 13-11. The road team won each meeting of the Bemidji State/Minot State series during the 2018-19 season. BSU opened the season-series with a 93-82 victory on Jan. 25, 2019 while MiSU won 79-76 on Feb. 16. Junior forward Derek Thompson led BSU in scoring with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field during the team’s victory over MiSU. He averaged 18.0 points per game while senior guard Ja Morgan averaged 22.0 points and 9.0 assists per game and recorded a double-double with 28 points and 10 assists Feb. 16.

The series began Dec. 18, 1969, an 86-82 win by Bemidji State in Mayville, N.D. The two programs took breaks of 15 (1972-87) and 11 years (1990-2001) before they started to play each season.

UMary leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 16-11. Each home team won during the 2018-19 season series between Bemidji State and UMary. The Marauders took an 83-66 win on Jan. 26, 2019 in Bismarck, N.D., while the Beavers used a big first half to a 70-47 win on Feb. 15, 2019 in Bemidji, Minn. The two programs have split each season series since the 2017-18 season. Morgan averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 assists per game versus UMary last season. Sophomore guard Max Bjorklund scored 15 five rebounds and two assists in his only game against the Marauders last season.

The series began Dec. 18, 1971, a 92-87 win by U-Mary.