Beavers face Huskies in final road games of 2020-21 season

Bemidji State University men’s basketball will travel to face St. Cloud State University Feb. 5-6 for its final road games of the 2020-21 season. The Beavers (2-8, 1-7 NSIC) and Huskies (5-5, 3-3 NSIC) open the weekend at 6 p.m. Friday and close the weekend at 2 p.m. Saturday at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn.

St. Cloud State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 103-48. BSU has won two straight against SCSU after sweeping the 2019-20 season series. Bemidji State has won its last two games against St. Cloud State by an average of 15.0 points per game, including an 86-65 victory Feb. 21, 2020.

The series began Jan. 6, 1922, a 47-13 win by St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn.

BSU was taken down in both games Jan. 29-30 at Minot State University, opening the weekend with a 91-82 loss before a 74-56 defeat Saturday afternoon. The Beavers set a season-high shooting 54.4 percent from the field in Friday’s loss but saw Minot State also shoot a season-high at 65.5 percent from the floor. It was the first time BSU had allowed an opponent to shoot over 65 percent overall since Feb. 10, 2017. MiSU offset 10 BSU 3-pointers by winning the battle in the paint, 40-24.

Five Bemidji State student-athletes scored at least 10 points, led by senior guard Nick Wagner who knocked down four 3-pointers. Junior guard Mohamed Kone followed with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting while senior guard Tyler Behrendt scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Seniors Griffin Chase and Derek Thompson recorded 11 points each, including three 3-pointers from Chase and six rebounds and two steals from Thompson. Freshman forward Dalton Albrecht came off the bench for nine points and six rebounds.

Bemidji State was dominant on the boards during the second game of the weekend, outrebounding Minot State 40-33. MiSU limited BSU’s opportunities as Bemidji State shot just 32.8 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc. Fifteen BSU giveaways provided MiSU with 15 points off turnovers, as nine turnovers came in the first half.

Kone and Thompson both neared double-double figures, as Kone led the team with 13 points and both recorded nine rebounds. Wagner scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while Thompson finished with nine points. Wagner led BSU in scoring over the weekend with 14.5 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting and added 3.5 assists per game. Thompson led BSU in rebounds with 7.5 boards per game. Thompson leads BSU and ranks 14th in the NSIC with 15.6 points per game, and leads BSU and ranks ninth in the conference with 7.0 rebounds per game. He also ranks 17th in the NSIC in field goal percentage and 18th in blocks per game.

Thompson moved up one spot to 13th all-time at BSU in scoring and ranks ninth all-time in rebounds. He currently has 1,160 career points and 526 career rebounds with the Beavers.

St. Cloud State won back-to-back games last weekend in a road series at Concordia University-St. Paul in non-conference games. The Huskies opened the weekend with a 93-85 victory before taking down the Golden Bears, 77-73, on Sunday.