Friday
Senior Lance Rongstad (G/F, Sr., 6-3, 205, Eleva, Wis. / Eleva-Straum HS) led four Bemidji State University men’s basketball players in double-figures with 18 points Friday as the Beavers garnered a 72-57 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory versus Southwest Minnesota State University at the BSU Gymnasium.
Mason Walters (F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Milton, Wis. / Milton HS) posted his seventh double-double of the season netting a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 13 points, while senior guard Dermaine Crockrell (6-1, 165, Mesa, Ariz. / Scottsdale CC) added 16 points.
The Beavers got the first basket of the game and would build an early 7-6 lead on a pair of Walters layups, but a 1-for-12 stretch during the next seven minutes would put BSU down 14-9 midway through the first half.
Rongstad helped the Beavers regain the lead, 18-16 with a layup with 6:13 remaining in the half. The bucket would spark a 16-2 run to end the frame and send BSU into the halftime break holding a 34-18 lead.
SMSU opened the second half netting two of the first three baskets, but the Beavers would bounce back to stretch its lead to 16 points, 39-23, 6:18 into the half on a Maxie Rosenbloom (F, Jr., 6-6, 255, St. Paul, Minn. / Johnson HS) tip in.
The Beavers’ lead hovered around the 10-point mark until an 8-0 run by the Mustangs trimmed their deficit to 40-36 with less than 10 minutes to play. However over the course of the next five minutes, Crockrell would go 2-for-3 with a pair of 3-point field goals and hit 4-of-4 at the free throw line to give BSU a 53-39 cushion.
SMSU made a run late in the physical half, coming as close as 10 points 64-54 with 1:44 to go, but BSU, a team that was 18-of-27 at the line on the night (.667), was 10-for-10 at the charity stripe in the game’s final two minutes to hold the lead and gain the victory.
The Beavers improved to 10-9 overall and 8-7 in NSIC play and continue their current homestand tomorrow when they host league newcomer University of Sioux Falls. The opening tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
Saturday
The Bemidji State University men’s basketball team got nine 3-point baskets, including a season-best 4-of-6 performance from senior Mason Walters (F, 6-7, 225, Milton, Wis.), to outlast University of Sioux Falls and gain the 3-point, 72-69 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory Saturday at the BSU Gymnasium.
BSU senior Lance Rongstad (G/F., 6-3, 205. Eleva, Wis.) poured in a game-high 20 points, which included 10 points in the game’s final 2:34, and led the team with six rebounds to help the Beavers hold off a late charge by the Cougars. Dermaine Crockrell (G, Sr., 6-1, 185, Mesa, Ariz.) added 19 points and four assists.
USF took the first lead of the game just 27 seconds in, but the Beavers would match the Cougars basket-for-basket during the first two minutes of play. A Zach Noreen (F, Sr., 6-6, 255, Avon, Minn.) layup at the 2:50 mark would swing the lead in the Beavers’ favor for the first time, 6-4.
The Beavers’ lead hovered around one point until Walters drained back-to-back 3-point shots, followed by a pair of free throws from Rongstad to put the Beavers up 22-13 midway through the first half.
The Bemidji State lead would swell to 11 points with 6:32 left in the half, but the Cougars would go on a 7-2 run to head into the locker rooms at the break trialing by five, 32-27.
Sioux Falls whittled away at BSU’s lead during the opening five minutes of the second half and took advantage of a 2-for-5 shooting stretch by the Beavers to claim its first lead since the 2:16 mark of the first half, 41-39, on a 3-pointer from A.J. Holland.
A dunk by USF’s Bryan Kielpinski gave the Cougar’s their largest lead of the evening at 47-41, but the advantage would be short-lived as BSU would score 10 of the next 14 points capped by a Crockrell 3-popinter to put the Beavers up 52-51 with 8:56 to play.
The Beavers would go up seven points with just over six minutes to go, but a late 11-3 charge by USF saw the Cougars grab one-point lead, 63-62, with 1:57 left on the clock. BSU responded with a Crockrell lay in followed by one of Rongstad’s two three-point plays down the stretch put score in BSU’s favor for good.
Rongstad was a perfect 5-5 in the final two minutes of play to secure the victory.
The Beavers finished the night 25-of-49 to shoot 51 percent form the field, which included a 9-for-20 (.450) performance from beyond the arc.
The Beavers improve to 11-9 overall and 9-7 in NSIC play. BSU is back in action next weekend as it hits the road for a pair of conference contests. The Beavers will be at Minnesota State University, Mankato Friday and at Concordia University-St. Paul Saturday.