Beaver Fever Friday – Derek Thompson – Mens Basketball

Bemidji State travels to face Northern State, MSU Moorhead Feb. 11-12

Bemidji State University men’s basketball travels Feb. 11-12 to take on Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Beavers and Wolves begin the weekend at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Aberdeen, S.D., followed by the Beavers and Dragons at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.

The Series vs. Northern State

Northern State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 68-27.
BSU and NSU last met Dec. 11, 2021, an 83-68 win by Northern State in Bemidji.
Northern State leads the series when played in Aberdeen, 35-9.
Bemidji State and Northern State first met Dec. 18, 1959, a 78-48 win by BSU in Bemidji.

The Series vs. MSU Moorhead

MSUM leads the all-time series against BSU, 103-86.
The Beavers and Dragons last met Dec. 10, 2021, a 68-53 win by MSUM in Bemidji.
MSUM leads the series when played in Moorhead, 55-31.
Bemidji State and MSU Moorhead first met Feb. 17, 1928, a 33-22 win by the Dragons.

BSU snapped a seven-game losing streak as part of a weekend split against Minot State University and the University of Mary Feb. 4-5 in Bemidji, Minn. BSU opened its weekend with an 82-54 win over Minot State, finishing one point shy of tying the largest margin of victory in series history, before a 55-53, last-second loss to UMary.

Bemidji State dominated the rebound margin in Friday’s weekend opener against Minot State, 44-26, and finished the first half on a 10-0 run to pull away. BSU’s 39-26 halftime lead was extended to 21 points, 59-38, just under the 10-minute mark behind free throws from senior Derek Thompson and senior Mohamed Kone’s 1,000th career collegiate point.

Senior guard Travis Bianco led the Beavers for the ninth time this season, scoring 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting with four rebounds and four assists. The 25 points was his eighth 20-point game of the season while Kone followed with 15 points and neared a double-double with nine rebounds.

The Beavers and Marauders went back-and-forth in scoring during the majority of the first half before UMary took a 29-20 lead at halftime. The lead was extended to a game-high 12 points out of halftime before Kone scored all nine of his points during a 22-4 run for BSU. The run gave BSU a 53-46 lead with 3:13 to play but was ended there as the Marauders held the Beavers to 0-of-4 shooting and a key missed free throw over the final three minutes. UMary put in an offensive rebound and an and-one conversion to go ahead by two points with two seconds remaining.

Sophomore John Sutherland led BSU with 14 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. He hit 7-of-10 shots from the field while Bianco was the only other Beaver to reach double-digit scoring at 13 points.

BSU has featured a 20-point scorer in nine of its last 11 games, including six from senior guard Travis Bianco.

Thompson continued to climb the scoring and rebounding charts at Bemidji State, currently sitting third all-time with 1,508 points and second with 685 rebounds, nine shy of tying Steve Vogel (1975-78) for the most in program history.