Six second half and 10 overall 3-pointers by Minnesota State University Moorhead doomed the Bemidji State University men’s basketball team Saturday, as it fell 73-64 to the Dragons in the semifinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament. The loss ends the conference tournament for BSU, but not the season as it expects to be in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.

As the No. 4 team in the latest NCAA regional poll, the Beavers are more than likely going to be selected in the top eight from the central region to advance to the NCAA tournament, hosted by the highest seed March 10-13. The selection show will air live online at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4. Check www.ncaa.com Sunday night for details.

The Beavers (22-8) were the top seed in the tournament, while the Dragons were the No. 4 seed. The Beavers have appeared in six semifinal games in NSIC tournament history and are now 0-6 in those contests. Senior James Ellisor (F, Glendale, Ariz.) had a game-high 20 points for the Beavers on 9-for-12 (75%) with seven rebounds and four assists. He has 664 points this season to become the BSU record holder for points in a season. BSU scored the first basket of the game and opened a 7-0 lead before the Dragons first got on the board two minutes into the contest.  The Beavers opened a lead as large as nine at 19-10 with 14:09 remaining, but MSUM battled back with a 6-0 spell to cut the deficit to three. The game was tied 22-22 with 10:45 remaining, but Tesdahl responded with a bucket from beyond the arc to give BSU the lead.

The Beavers were able to open a seven point advantage at 35-28 15 minutes into the first frame, but the Dragons again came back, while BSU struggled and at the half the Beaver lead was just two at 37-35. The Beavers shot 50 percent from the field in the frame, while MSU Moorhead was 43.5 percent. BSU hit on 5-of-6 free throws, but the Dragon shot 14 from the line and made 11 for a 78.6 percentage. BSU had nine assists in the first with three turnovers. Senior guard Bryce Tesdahl (Crosby, Minn.) and sophomore Zach Noreen (F, Avon, Minn.) each had nine points for BSU at the break.

The Dragons came out the locker room on a mission and used a 14-5 run to open a seven point lead at 49-42 with 13:41 remaining in the game. A 6-0 run by the Beavers got BSU within one at 49-48 with 12:12 left in the frame. After a media timeout the Dragons hit a 3-pointer to go up four and then both teams failed to score during the next 2:30 of game time. MSUM was the first to score on a jumper and the lead was six with 8:31 left.

Ellisor converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play, then Tesdahl knocked down a jumper and the Beavers were again within one at 54-53 with 6:38 showing on the clock. But a MSUM 3-pointer fell and then another went down within a minute of each other and the Dragons had a quick 60-53 advantage with just over five to go.

An Ellisor drive and score put the Beavers down five with four minutes left, but the Dragons dialed up another shot from well beyond the arc and put a dagger into the BSU hopes of cutting the contest to a one possession game. With the score at 65-57 and 3:18 remaining the Beavers missed two shots and turned the ball over once, forcing it to play the foul game in the last two minutes. The deficit would be too much and the Beavers fell for the third time this season to MSU Moorhead.

Tesdahl and Noreen each finished with 11 points for the Beavers. Tesdahl was 4-for-5 (90%) from the field, 3-for-4 (75%) from beyond the arc and added four assists. BSU shot 44.4 percent in the half and 47.3 percent in the game. MSU Moorhead shot 50 percent in the half to finish with a 46.8 percent clip. The Dragons entered the contest as the top 3-point shooting team with the most makes in the league as well. They hit six of their 10 3-pointers in the second half and shot 47.6 percent from downtown. BSU had nine turnovers that translated into 16 points for MSUM, while the Beavers created just four turnovers.