Friday

After suffering losses by five points or less in three out of the last six games, the Bemidji State University men’s basketball team was on the winning end of a close game, as its posted a 76-75 overtime victory against visiting Minnesota State University Moorhead Friday at BSU Gymnasium.

Last season the Beavers (9-8; 7-6 NSIC) suffered an 84-77 overtime loss at home to the Dragons (14-5; 8-5 NSIC) and have lost the last six meetings between the teams. The streak ended in thrilling fashion, as BSU needed the extra five minutes to defeat MSUM. The final bucket came off the hand of senior Dermaine Crockrell (G, Mesa, Ariz.) who’s layup with just five ticks left in the extra session sent the Beavers into the locker room happy.

BSU went on an 8-0 run during the last 2:18 of overtime to lift it to victory. Included in the run was a 3-pointer from junior forward Zach Noreen (Avon, Minn.) with 2:02 left, a 3-point dagger from atop the key off the sweet release of senior Mason Walters (F, Milton, Wis.) with just under a minute left and a full palm block by junior Maxie Rosenbloom, (F, St. Paul, Minn.) that denied a MSU Moorhead layup with 27 ticks left to set-up Crockrell’s heroics.

Walters capped the game with 17 points to tie for the team-high, but more impressively brought in a career-high 12 rebounds, with the last board coming off the hand of Rosenbloom’s block. The double-double is his sixth double-double of the season. Senior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Eleva, Wis.) continued his dominance and tied for the team lead with 17 points, his fifth consecutive game leading the team in scoring. He totaled 15 points in the first half and finished the game shooting 7-for-14 (50%) from the field and 3-of-8 (37.5%) from downtown. Noreen closed with 16 points and six rebounds on 4-of-7 (57.1%) shooting from downtown, while Crockrell scored all of his 10 points in the second half and overtime.

Head coach Mike Boschee used just three players off his bench in the game, but all three were vital, as Rosenbloom swatted away a career-high three blocks and added four points in the paint with three rebounds. Junior guard Michael Farrington (Milwaukee, Wis.) relieved senior guard Jason Edwards (Pheonix, Ariz.) for 14 minutes and shared the guarding duties of the league’s second-leading scorer, Anthony Tucker, and added four points, three rebounds and three assists. Junior Jake Schalow (G, Kaukauna, Wis.) stepped up and played a solid 11 minutes and totaled five points, which included a 3-pointer that clotted a four minute scoreless streak for BSU in the second half.

BSU shot 12-for-34 (35.3%) from beyond the arc, while MSU Moorhead posted an 11-for-24 (45.8%) night from 3-point land. Both teams shot 42.9 percent from the field in the game. The Beavers attempted just five free throws (4-for-5), while the Dragons went 10-for-13 (76.9%) from the charity stripe. BSU committed seven first half turnovers, but took care of the ball in the final 25 minutes and handed it over just twice. On the defensive end, BSU forced seven of MSU Moorhead’s 12 turnovers in the second half and overtime to convert its miscues into 15 points.

The Beavers started out hot and jumped to a nine-point lead at 18-9, 5:04 into the game behind four 3-pointers and two dunks. Noreen has eight points in the run. The advantage dropped to five at 18-13 with 13:13 left in the first half, but a 6-0 run by the home team gave BSU its largest lead of the game at 24-13 with 11:42 remaining in the half.

Then came the Dragons, as the road team battled back to a two-point deficit with an 11-2 run that put the score at 26-24 with 6:54 showing on the clock. The Beaver struggles continued for the next three minutes and BSU faced a four-point deficit at 32-28 with 4:24 left in the opening half. A Rongstad 3-pointer got the Beavers back on track and stared a 9-0 run that flipped a four-point deficit into a five-point lead at 37-32 with just over a minute to play. A Tucker 3-pointer with just two seconds left spoiled the late Beaver run a bit and placed the halftime score at 37-35.

Tucker then hit another 3-point shot in the second half’s first 10 seconds to give MSUM a lead at 38-37. A Dragon layup made it 40-37, but the Beavers countered and went on a 7-2 run to open a 47-42 lead with 15:30 showing. The teams traded buckets until the Dragons knotted the game up 52-52 with 9:54 to play, then followed that by opening up a seven-point advantage in a 7-0 run and led 59-52 with 6:36 left. A Crockrell drive and score and a Walters 3-pointer ended the drought and BSU faced a manageable two-point hole.

The Dragon lead sat at five (64-59) with 3:38 remaining in regulation, but a layup from Crockrell and a cold-blooded 3-pointer from Edwards tied the game 64-64 with 2:25 left. A pair of free throws from MSUM, countered by a Noreen leaning jumper again tied the game, this time at 66-66. Tucker missed a go-ahead 3-pointer and set-up an opportunity for BSU to find the winning bucket. Crockrell let the shot clock wind down and pulled up for a 3-pointer with seven seconds left, but his shot was off the mark and the Dragons’ Alex Novak came down with the ball. In a fight for the rebound, Rongstad was whistled for a foul that put Novak at the line in a 1-and-1 situation with just 1.7 seconds left.

Fortunately he missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and the Beavers came down with a rebound to send the game into overtime. After two Crockrell free throws, the Dragons jumped out to seven-point lead at 75-68 with 2:18 remaining. With déjà vu of last season’s overtime loss when the Beavers failed to produce in overtime, en route to a seven-point loss, on the mind, it didn’t look good for the home team.

But experience and the home crowd moved the Beavers past last season’s loss and Noreen started the big comeback for BSU that ultimately led to Crockrell’s important layup and a much-needed momentum boost for the Beavers.

The Beavers host Northern State University Saturday at 6 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium.

Saturday

Northern State University visited Bemidji State University Saturday and stole a 58-55 victory from the Beaver men’s basketball team in a defensive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference battle at BSU Gymnasium. The loss places BSU back to .500 at 9-9 overall and 7-7 in league play.

The evenly matched contest had five scoring changes and four tie games, while each squad held a short-lived double digit lead at some point in the game. Northern State (16-5, 11-3 NSIC) shot 39 percent from the field, while BSU posted a 37 percentage. Both teams hit five 3-pointers and rebounds finished 35-34 in NSU’s favor.

The post play from Wolves forward Dustin Tetzlaff and NSU leading scorer Collin Pryor got the best of the Beavers in the second half and enabled the road team to gain a hold a lead. The two combined for 62 percent of the Wolves’ points, as Pryor went for 19 and nine rebounds, while Tetzlaff posted 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Beavers were led by senior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Eleva, Wis.) – for now the sixth game in a row – and senior Dermaine Crockrell (G, Mesa, Ariz.), who each tallied 13 points. Crockrell added six rebounds, while Rongstad posted five boards and a team-high three assists to go with a 9-for-10 performance from the line that guided BSU’s 16-for-20 (80%) effort from the charity stripe. Senior Mason Walters (F, Milton, Wis.) scored 11 points and fell just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Junior Maxie Rosenbloom (F, St. Paul, Minn.) again put in efficient minutes off the bench and finished 3-for-5 with six points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 23 minutes.

The Beavers started off strong, posting a 10-0 run after being tied 4-4 to open a 14-4 lead with 12:14 left in the first half. The Wolves countered with a with a 9-2 run that spanned nearly five minutes of game time to get within three at 16-13 with 7:40 remaining. Northern State kept coming and eventually tied the game 20-20 before taking a 22-20 lead with 3:38 showing on the game clock.

A pair of Rongstad free throws knotted the game up at 22-22, then Crockrell knocked down a jumper to give BSU the lead at 24-22 with 2:41 left. Unfortunately for BSU, it would only post one bucket the rest of the way, as the Wolves closed the half on a 10-2 run to ride a six-point lead into halftime at 32-26.

The first two minutes of the second half was all NSU, as it reached its largest lead of the game at 37-26 with 18:37 remaining in regulation. The Beavers responded with an 8-0 run that saw Rongstad knock down two free throws, junior forward Zach Noreen (Avon, Minn.) hit a 3-pointer and Walters convert on an old-fashioned 3-point play to get BSU back in the game at 37-34 with 16:41 left.

NSU increased its lead back to eight at 46-38 with 14:01 remaining, but the Beavers didn’t back down and slowly chipped at the deficit to trail by just two at 48-46 with 7:12 showing on the game clock. BSU trailed by five at 54-49 with 4:36 left, and was able to get back within two at 54-52 with just 1:06 remaining.

NSU missed on the open end of a 1-and-1 and the Beavers had a chance for late-game heroics to strike again, much like the night before, but an unfortunate turnover with 32 seconds remaining forced BSU to play the foul game. Pryor went to the line and hit both his free throws to make it a two possession game and a desperation 3-pointer from Crockrell with 10 ticks left to extend the life of the Beavers was off the mark and the home team fell in the end 58-55. Senior guard Jason Edwards (Pheonix, Ariz.) heaved a meaningless shot from a little more than half court as time expired and it went off the glass and in to finish the three-point loss.

The Beavers conclude a four-game home stand Feb. 1-2, as Southwest Minnesota State University and University of Sioux Falls visit BSU Gymnasium for 8 p.m. and 6 p.m. contests, respectfully.