Men’s Basketball resumes NSIC North play versus Minot State, UMary

Bemidji State University men’s basketball will play host to Minot State University and the University of Mary Feb. 4-5 at BSU Gymnasium. Rematches against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division foes begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday against MiSU and 5:30 p.m. Saturday against UMary.

The Series vs. Minot State

Minot State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 15-14.
The pair of Beaver teams last met Dec. 18, 2021, an 80-78 win by MiSU in Minot, N.D.
Bemidji State leads the series when played in Bemidji, 8-5.
Bemidji State and Minot State first met Dec. 28, 1967, an 86-82 win by BSU.

The Series vs. UMary

UMary leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 18-14.
The Beavers and Marauders last met Dec. 17, 2021, a 68-40 win by BSU in Bismarck.
UMary leads the series when played in Bemidji, 9-7.
Bemidji State and UMary first met Dec. 18, 1971, a 92-87 win by UMary.

BSU was handed losses of 73-69 to No. 14 Augustana University and 77-71 to Wayne State College during its last weekend of action at BSU Gymnasium. The Beavers are on a seven-game losing streak as they move back into play against the NSIC North Division.

Bemidji State held leads in both halves, including a 54-50 advantage with 13:03 to play. Augustana went on a 13-4 run to take its final lead of the night despite Bemidji State pulling within two points with 41 seconds to play. The Vikings pulled down an offensive rebound late and sank two free throws to seal the game.

Senior guard Travis Bianco led the Beavers with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, marking his sixth 20-point game of the season. Senior foward Derek Thompson added 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting with six rebounds. He moved into third all-time at BSU in scoring following the game, surpassing Mac SMith (1997-2001).

The Beavers held a lead for nearly 14 minutes in the first half before the Wildcats took the final lead of the game with the first basket of the second half. After a game-high lead of 13 points by WSC, BSU fought back to cut its deficit to just four points during the final minutes of the game. The Beavers missed four straight 3-pointers to end the game as the Wildcats held on to the win.

Bianco, Thompson and senior guard Mohamed Kone combined to score 54 points for BSU, led by Bianco with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting with six rebounds. Thompson recorded his 14th career double-double and third of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Kone scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting with a team-high five assists.

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

Thompson continued to climb the scoring and rebounding charts at Bemidji State, currently sitting third all-time with 1,492 points and moving into second with 664 rebounds, surpassing Mac Smith. He also set the BSU program record with 108 career game started.