BSU opens home conference schedule versus Wayne State and Augie

The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference interdivisional games Dec. 13-14 against Wayne State College and Augustana University. The Beavers open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Friday against the Wildcats before a 5:30 p.m. tip-off Saturday against the Vikings at BSU Gymnasium.

Wayne State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 28-23. Augustana leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 16-6.

Bemidji State took a road split Dec. 6-7 with an 81-73 loss at Northern State University and a 79-67 win at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Beavers enter the weekend 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC.

Morgan led the Beavers in scoring for the fourth and fifth straight game while averaging 20.5 points per game on 15-of-26 shooting from the field and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. Morgan added 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game, including his third straight 20-point game with 21 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block during BSU’s win. Morgan was the only Beavers to score in double-digits in both games while junior guard Nick Wagner averaged 13.0 points per game. Wagner scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting at MSUM. Sophomore forward Cody Landwehr averaged 10.5 points per game off the bench. He scored 13 points in 19 minutes against the Dragons on 60 percent shooting with six rebounds.

Morgan leads the NSIC with 6.3 assists per game, a 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and 2.1 steals per game. Wagner leads the league with 3.7 3-pointer per game, ranks third shooting 41.9 percent from beyond the arc and ninth with 17.4 points per game.

The Beavers moved to 3-0 against opponents when shooting over 50 percent from the field and 4-0 when shooting better than its opponent. Morgan’s 20-point game against NSU was the first loss for BSU when featuring a 20-point scorer.

Bemidji State enters the game as one of the best teams in the conference in scoring, field goal and 3-point field goal offense and defense. The Beavers rank third shooting 48.5 percent overall and first shooting 42.0 percent from beyond the arc. BSU has stiffled its opponents from the floor by leading the league with 39.0 percent shooting allowed overall and ranking fourth allowing 32.3 percent from 3-point range.