Friday

Senior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Eleva, Wis.) posted 24 points Friday to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau for his career to become the 16th student-athlete in Bemidji State University men’s basketball history to accomplish the feat.

Unfortunately the Beavers were not victorious in the game and fell at Winona State University 70-67 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game in Winona, Minn. BSU dropped to 8-7 overall and 6-5 in NSIC play while the Warriors, who were receiving votes in the latest national poll, improved to 15-3 overall and 9-2 in league contests.

Rongstad has posted 20 or more points in each of the last three games and recorded his 1,000 point just an hour from his hometown of Eleva, Wis. Friday he shot 44.4 percent from the field on 8-for-18 shooting. He hit on 3-of-6 shots from 3-point range and was 5-for-7 (71.4%) from the line. He added four rebounds and two steals in the game.

The Beavers got a career-high 13 points from senior Jason Edwards (G, Phoenix, Ariz.) on career-highs 5-for-8 shooting (62.5%) from the field. He also added three assists and three steals. Senior Dermaine Crockrell (G, Mesa, Ariz.) added 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists.

BSU shot 53.6 percent in the first half, but a 37 percent performance in the second put its game total at 45.5 percent. The Warriors posted opposite numbers with a 40.7 mark in the first and a 59.3 percentage in the second to shoot at a 50 percent clip. The Beavers went just 2-for-7 from the charity stripe in the second frame and finished 8-for-15 (40.9%) from the line. BSU is 1-3 in games decided by five points or less this season – 1-2 in the last four games.

The Beavers and Warriors traded buckets early and sat tied 6-6 with 15:16 remaining in the first half. With 12:58 showing on the game clock, the home team held its first advantage of the game at 11-10. BSU responded with an 11-0 run that saw it gain a 10-point lead with 11:02 left in the first frame. In the run, BSU got scoring from four different players, including three buckets from downtown. Halfway through the first 20 minutes Rongstad and Edwards each had seven points for the Beavers.

Winona State battled back to get within three at 23-20 and 7:20 left in the half. Crockrell ended run with a lay-up and started a 6-2 run to lift the lead to seven at 29-22 with six remaining. The see-saw match continued and just over two minutes later WSU cut its deficit to three at 32-29.

Four consecutive free throws by Rongstad gave him 13 points in the game, then Crockrell added one from the charity stripe and handed the Beavers a 37-29 lead with less than 1:22 left. A Clayton Vette dunk ended the BSU run, but Rongstad knocked down a dagger from beyond the arc and Crockrell followed with a fastbreak layup and the Beavers ran into the locker room with a 42-31 lead.

The Beavers were leading 44-35 with 16:39 reaming in the second half, but the Warriors started to chip away at the BSU lead. WSU posted a 12-3 run that lasted five minutes and knotted the game 47-47 with 11 minutes to go. The three points came off the hands of, who else, Rongstad and put his game total to 19 and marked the shot that put him over 1,000 career points.

A jumper by Crockrell regained the lead for BSU and it was able to hold a small advantage until Rongstad converted on a lay-up with 5:51 left to hand the road team a 61-55 lead.

The Warriors again countered and posted an 8-3 run to knot the game 63-63 before taking their first lead of the half at 66-63 with 2:33 remaining in regulation. After a missed opportunity to tie it on the offensive end, BSU caught a break on the defensive end when a Warrior offensive rebound and put-back was called for goaltending.

The call set-up an Edwards rare four-point play on the next BSU possession. Crockrell drove the lane and dished to Edwards in the corner, who hit a shot from beyond the arc and was knocked to the floor in the process. The converted free throw gave the Beavers a 67-66 lead with 1:08 remaining.

BSU played strong defense and forced WSU down to the last seconds of the shot clock, but the Warriors were able to convert on a layup to regain the lead at 68-67. With the shot clock turned off, BSU had the ball with the last shot. After letting some time off the Beavers took a timeout with 16 seconds left. After the inbounds the ball came to Rongstad and he attempted to drive the lane, but lost the handle and turned the ball over to WSU.

He immediately fouled and the Warriors went to the line for a 1-and-1. WSU converted on both from the charity stripe and BSU again had a shot to tie, but a desperation 3-point attempt from seniors Mason Walters (F, Milton, Wis.) fell short, as did the road upset and the Beavers lost by three.

Bemidji State concludes a three-game road trip Jan. 19 at Upper Iowa University with an 8 p.m. start.

Saturday

The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team fell to 3-6 on the road in 2012-13 with a 81-67 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss at Upper Iowa University Saturday in Fayette, Iowa. The Beavers are 8-8 this season and own a 6-6 NSIC record.

The Peacocks shot 70.8 percent from the field in the second half, en route to a 63.6 percentage in the game, while the Beavers shot 40 percent in the contest. Guided in the effort was a 6-for-10 showing in the second half from downtown by UIU. Bemidji State hit nine 3-pointers, but attempted 28 and posted a 32.1 percentage. BSU forced 16 UIU turnovers, but could only produce six points off the miscues. BSU was outrebounded 32-22.

Four Beavers were in double figures, led by senior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Eleva, Wis.) and junior Zach Noreen (F, Avon, Minn.), who each had 14 points. Rongstad, who has led the team in scoring the last three games, also added a team-high five assists with four rebounds. Senior forward Mason Walters (Milton, Wis.) added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Dermaine Crockrell (G, Mesa, Ariz.) had 11 points, four rebounds three assists.

The Beavers trailed by 10 at 17-7 with 12:34 remaining in the first half, but countered with a 10-1 run that got them within one with 8:40 showing on the game clock. The teams traded buckets until BSU found its first lead of the game at 24-23 on a Rongstad layup with 5:23 left in the frame.

The squads again traded blows all the way to the halftime buzzer where Upper Iowa went into the locker room with a 36-34 advantage. In the half, there were four tie ball games and six lead changes.

A 3-pointer to open the second half by Crockrell gave the road team a 37-36 lead just 11 ticks into the final 20 minutes, but UIU came back with a 12-4 run and opened an eight-point lead at 51-43 with 14:59 left.

The Peacock lead hit 16 at 62-46 with 11:42 left, but the Beavers battled back to face a four-point deficit at 63-59 with 8:05 remaining. During the 11-1 run, BSU got scoring from four different players and seven points from Noreen.

A three minute scoring drought by the Beavers would place it in a 13-point hole at 74-61 with just under five to play and the UIU lead never dipped below 10 the rest of the way, en route to BSU’s third loss in the last four games.

The Beavers look to recover at home Jan. 25-26 against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University, respectfully.