Was the initial postponement against Northland College exactly what the 2016-17 Beavers needed?
That may not be a fair question, but let’s make one thing perfectly clear: Bemidji State did EXACTLY what they should when facing Division III teams, so it was not surprising that the team won games over Wisconsin-Superior 104-67 and Northland College 101-58. But the break allowed head coach Mike Boschee to do a couple of things.
- It allowed him and his team to take a look in the mirror, be it for better or worse. What they likely saw was a team a little void of confidence, not because they were playing awful at 0-3, but because the shots weren’t falling. There is not a lot in the game as deflating as doing everything right offensively only to see the end result go against you.
- It allowed him to change things up a bit rotation-wise. Mike decided that Logan Bader, a freshman, deserved the opportunity to start ahead of then-struggling senior Will Harvey. Since that change, Harvey has been a spark off the bench averaging 12 points per game and shooting 69% (11/16) from the floor. Meanwhile, Bader has fit in well to the lineup, averaging 6 points and 4 rebounds in his two starts.
- It, somehow, got junior guard Sharif Black going. Black, a transfer from Chadron State, is averaging 19.5 points per game over his last two, including a career-high 26 on Saturday against Superior.
Make no mistake about it, BSU will still be led on Friday night at Romano Gymnasium by Ben Best. The big senior had 18 points against Northland and will, no doubt, be crucial in the early conference games as the new players, who have not played a Northern Sun game yet, get acclimated to the physicality of the league. Starting NSIC play on the road is a daunting task, but they may turn out to be just young enough to not care about the reputation of their next 22 games.
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