BSU heads to UMary, MiSU for final games of 2021 calendar year

Bemidji State travels Dec. 17-18 during its final games of the calendar year to take on the University of Mary and Minot State University. BSU opens its trip at 5:30 p.m. Friday against the Marauders in Bismarck, N.D., before a 3:30 p.m. tip-off against the Beavers of MiSU in Minot, N.D.

The Series vs. UMary

UMary leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 18-13.
BSU and UMary split the 2021 season series, as the Marauders took a 76-70 win Jan. 22 before a 70-68 win Jan. 23 by the Beavers in Bemidji.
Both teams have split the season series over the past five seasons. The last team to take a season sweep was UMary during the 2015-16 season.
Bemidji State and UMary first met Dec. 18, 1971, a 92-87 win by the Marauders.

The Series vs. Minot State

The 28-game series between Bemidji State and Minot State is tied, 14-14.
MiSU came away with a season sweep last season against BSU, taking wins of 91-82 on Jan. 29 and 74-56 on Jan. 30 in Minot, N.D.
Minot State’s season sweep was the first by either team since the 2016-17 season.
Bemidji State and Minot State first met Dec. 28, 1967, an 86-82 win by BSU.

BSU was handed two losses at home during its last weekend of action Dec. 10-11, as Minnesota State University Moorhead took a 68-53 win and Northern State University came away with an 83-68 victory. The Beavers fall to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

The Beavers remained close with the Dragons in the first half before trailing at halftime by just four points. MSUM came out of the second half to take a game-high 16-point lead midway through the period. Bemidji State pulled to within seven points with 2:41 to play but saw MSU Moorhead’s lead extended again after finishing the game 0-of-5 from the field with one turnover given away.

Senior guard Travis Bianco was the only Beaver with double-digit scoring at 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Bianco also tied for the team-lead with five rebounds, while senior forward Derek Thompson added also totaled five rebounds with eight points, three assists and one steal. Senior guard Tyler Behrendt also scored eight points with four rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Bemidji State’s season-low 53 points against MSU Moorhead came from 37.7 percent shooting from the field, marking its second-worst shooting performance this season.

BSU and Northern State each traded scoring runs to begin Saturday’s game, led off with a 6-2 run by the Wolves. Bemidji State tied the game twice before Northern State went on a 12-4 run for a 10-point lead. BSU came back again to within two points but saw the final separation following a 10-0 run over a three-minute span for NSU.

Bianco led BSU in scoring for the second straight game with his second 20-point game of the season, finishing with 21 on 7-of-9 shooting. He went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and added a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Dalton Albrecht was the only other Beaver with at least 10 points, chipping in 13 points off the bench with nine coming from the free throw line. He also pulled down seven rebounds, including three offensive.