Bemidji State (10-4, 7-3 NSIC) recorded its first NSIC road weekend sweep since February 2012 with a 97-79 victory at Augustana and a 69-46 win at Wayne State, Jan. 10-11. BSU has won three straight and is 4-1 in its last five. In Friday’s win, the Beavers shot a 2013-14 NCAA Division II-best 71.2 percent from the field, which also established a program record. Junior Brock Lutes averaged 29.5 points per game last weekend to earn NSIC Player of the Week honors. His 19.4 points per game leads the NSIC. In the last five games, BSU is shooting 59.4 percent (161-for-271) and averaging 91.4 points per game (72.4 points allowed per game). In league games only, BSU leads the NSIC in field goal percentage (52.5%), 3-point percentage (44.4%) and free throw percentage (77.9%).

Fast Break
• The Beavers enter the weekend in a four-way tie for first in the NSIC North with the weekend opponents, MSU Moorhead and Northern State, as well as, St. Cloud State.
• BSU has twice recorded 16 steals in a game this season, which is an NSIC season-high. The team’s 9.6 steals per game is first in the league and ranks 12th nationally.
• With three 100-plus point games, the Beavers rank third in the NSIC in scoring with 83.9 points per game.
• The Beavers have recorded six games with 20 or more assists and are second in the NSIC (29th nationally) in the category with 16.6 assists per game.
• BSU’s 51.0 shooting percentage sits 10th in NCAA Division II this season, while its 42.4 percentage from beyond the arc is 13th in the nation and the 75.5 percentage from the charity stripe ranks 28th.
• Senior Jake Schalow owns a 94.9 percentage from the free throw line to rank 1st nationally (min. 2.5 made per game).
• Schalow’s 7-of-8 (87.5%) performance from 3-point land versus Minnesota Crookston Dec. 20 ranks tied for second nationally for 3-point percentage (min. 7 made) in a game.
• Senior Maxie Rosenbloom recorded a career-high 21 points and a BSU program record 24 rebounds Dec. 6 versus St. Cloud State to post the first 20-point, 20-rebound performance in program history. The rebound total ties as the third best single-game performance in NCAA Division II this season.
• Rosenbloom’s 9.4 rebounds per game is first in the league and 38th nationally.
• Senior Michael Farrington leads the NSIC and ranks 20th in the nation in steals per game with a 2.4 mark. His 34 steals is 15th nationally.
• Junior Brock Lutes has recorded 30 points three this season to sit as the only player in the NSIC to score 30-plus points three times. Lutes’ seven games with 20-plus points ranks tied for first in the NSIC, while senior Zach Noreen’s six games is tied for second.

The Dragons
MSU Moorhead (11-3, 7-3 NSIC) snapped a three-game losing streak (all road games) Jan. 10-11 with a home sweep of Concordia-St. Paul and then-No. 12 Minnesota State. Urbane Bingham leads the team with 12.4 points per game and is adding 4.0 rebounds per contest. The Dragons own 83.3 points per NSIC game this season to rank second in the league, thanks largely to the fact they lead the conference in 3-pointers made with 93.

Series Note
In a rivalry that dates back to 1928, the Beavers trail the Dragons 82-91 in the all-time series. Last season the Beavers downed MSUM 76-75 in overtime at home to end a six-game losing streak to the Dragons. BSU suffered a 77-68 loss on the road to MSU Moorhead earlier this season..

The Wolves
Northern State (12-4, 7-3 NSIC) carried a five-game winning streak into 2014, but are 2-2 in the new year. NSU is just 3-2 on the road this season. Skye Warwick (11.9 ppg) guides four players scoring 11.3 or more points per game this season. Trent Zomer owns 11.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. With 13.9 assists per game in league contests this season, the Wolves rank fourth in the NSIC.

Series Note
The Beavers have lost three straight to the Wolves and trail the all-time series 24-57. After losing twice by a total of six points last season, BSU suffered a 75-59 road loss to NSU in December. In the home loss last season, the Beavers fell 58-55. BSU head coach Mike Boschee has yet to defeat his former team. He served as a graduate assistant coach at Northern State and earned a masters degree in 1993.

Rebounding Machine
Senior Maxie Rosenbloom totaled a Bemidji State program record 24 rebounds in a home victory against St. Cloud State Dec. 6. The school’s previous record was 20 set by Stacy Pearson-Taylor March 1, 2006 versus Minnesota State University Moorhead. The rebound total sits tied for third in NCAA Division II this season.

In NSIC games since 1998-99, only five players have recorded 20 or more rebounds in a game, while just two players have totaled more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in a contest (both did so in at least one overtime). In that same time span, no one has recorded more than 22 rebounds in either league or nonconference play. The NSIC record for rebounds is 32, set in 1975.

NSIC Player of the Week – Maxie Rosenbloom
After averaging 18.0 points and pulling down 17.5 rebounds per game in a 2-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home weekend Dec. 6-7, senior forward Maxie Rosenbloom was honored as NSIC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week Dec. 9.

NSIC Player of the Week – Jake Schalow
Senior Jake Schalow recorded a career-high 30 points on an efficient 10-of-13 (76.9%) shooting from the field, a 7-of-8 (87.5%) effort from 3-point land and a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the free throw line in the 103-61 home victory against University of Minnesota Crookston Dec. 20 to earn NSIC Player of the Week Dec. 23.

NSIC Player of the Week – Brock Lutes
Brock Lutes was honored as NSIC Player of the Week Jan. 13 after the junior averaged 29.5 points per game and shot 65.5 percent from the field to guide BSU to an NSIC road weekend sweep Jan. 10-11. Lutes went 19-of-29 from the field, 8-for-16 (50%) from the 3-point range and 13-of-14 (92.9%) from the charity stripe

NSIC Player of the Week – Bemidji State
Brock Lutes (Jan. 13), Jake Schalow (Dec. 23) and Maxie Rosenbloom (Dec. 9) have all been honored as NSIC Player of the Week award recipients in 2013-14. The last time three different Beavers earned the recognition in the same season was 2004-05. The accomplishment has happened four times since 2002-03.

Home Sweet Home
The Beavers are 17-4 at the BSU Gymnasium under second-year head coach Mike Boschee. BSU is 3-1 versus teams ranked or receiving votes nationally and have won a postseason game at home. Bemidji State is 7-2 in 2013-14.

NSIC Preseason Poll/BSU’s Player to Watch
Coming off an 18-12 overall record and a 13-9 league mark a season ago, the Bemidji State men’s basketball team was tabbed to finish 12th in the 2013-14 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Beavers were pegged to finish sixth in the NSIC North Division, while senior forward Zach Noreen (Avon, Minn.) was deemed BSU’s Player to Watch.

Against Ranked Opponents
In the first season under Mike Boschee, the Beavers went 3-3 versus nationally ranked opponents. The Beavers are 10-25 in the last eight seasons versus nationally ranked opponents.