Bemidji State looks to add to three-game win streak with road trip to Wayne State and Augustana

Beavers take their longest road trip of the season

The Bemidji State University Men’s Basketball team travel to Wayne State College and Augustana University this weekend as it looks to keep momentum rolling after extending its win streak to three games. The Beavers start Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play at Wayne, Neb., at 5:30 p.m., on Friday, then travel to Augustana the following day for a 3:30 p.m., game.

The Series vs Wayne State
Wayne State leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 29-24.
The Beavers and Wildcats last met on Jan. 29, 2022, with a 77-71 win by WSC in Bemidji, Minn.
Wayne State leads the series 16-9 when playing in Wayne, Neb.
BSU and WSC first met Dec. 30, 1973, a 71-58 win by Bemidji State.

The Series vs Augustana
Augustana leads the all-time series against Bemidji State, 17-5.
The Beavers and Vikings last met Jan. 28, 2022, with a 73-69 win by AU in Bemidji, Minn.
Augustana leads the series 11-1 when playing in Sioux Falls, S.D.
BSU and AU first met Nov. 29, 2002, with a 74-70 win by Augustana.

The Beavers came away with weekend victories over Concordia University-St. Paul (88-71) and Minnesota State University, Mankato (79-69) to improve their home record to 8-1 and their overall record to 12-6, 7-5 NSIC.

BSU is on a hot streak with a three-game win streak and winning its last seven of eight games.

In the preseason polls BSU was picked to finished 15th in the conference and currently sit at sixth overall and fourth in the North Division.

RJ Smith was close to recording a triple-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the victory over the Golden Bears. Smith also added three blocks and a steal to his stat sheet.

John Sutherland added another double-double to his belt after scoring a career-high 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Minnesota State for his sixth of the season. Along with his 15 points in the game before landed him the title of NSIC North Division Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Mohamed Kone tied Sutherland in points on the weekend, leading the Beavers with 45 points.

Bemidji State shot its best all season against Concordia-St. Paul at 67.4% but an even crazier 78.3% in the first half. The last time the Beavers shot over 65% was last season against Northland College on Nov. 20, 21 where they hit on 72.1% of their shots.

Adding to their successful shooting night, BSU went 12-for-20 (60.0 %) from the three-point arc with Brayden Williams and Kone both going 4-for-4 in the game. Williams tallied 18 points and did not miss a shot.

The Beavers started to double team the Mavericks late in the first half leading to their season high of 10 steals in one game with Sutherland and Kone responsible for three apiece.

Sutherland reached over 300 points on the season, leading Bemidji State with 310. Sutherland is second in the NSIC averaging 19.4 points per game.

Sutherland currently sits at third for rebounds per game in the conference with 8.8 per game and lead the Beavers with 141 on the season.

Bemidji State has climbed to second place in scoring offense with 80.4 points per game, with University of Minnesota, Duluth above them at 81.3. The Beavers are up to 12th in scoring defense allowing 76.1 points per game

Mohamed Kone is leading the Beavers in assists with 58 and is 11 assists away from recording the sixth most assists in school history at 247.

BSU after its strong shooting performances last weekend is back above .500 and lead the NSIC shooting at 50.2%. Sutherland also leads the conference in individual shooting percentage at 61.3%. The Beavers have reached 15th in Division II for shooting percentage and Sutherland sits at 19th in the nation.

The Beavers are 15th in turnovers and are 13th in assist to turnover ratio with a 1.04 ratio.