It was an intense win for the Bemidji State University (BSU) Beavers on Saturday, Jan. 23, against the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Bulldogs. Freshmen guard Lance Rongstad gave the Beavers the lead in the last 12 seconds with a layup, making the final score 71-69.
Freshmen forward Mason Walters started the game off for Bemidji, scoring a 3-pointer. Within the first few minutes, the game was tied 5-5, but with impressive rebounds and effectively run plays, the Beavers kept ahead throughout most of the first half.
Junior forward Patrick Cassidy earned four rebounds, while Rongstad topped the scoring with nine points followed closely by senior guard Seth Haake who scored 8 points. The Beavers ended the half in the lead 32-29.
"We knew we were down," Cassidy said. "But we weren't out. It was all about staying together as a team and working hard."
When asked what contributed to the win, Rongstad who finished with 15 points explained, "The last week of practice we really focused on concentrating and playing smart."
The lady Beavers were less successful, accumulating a loss 56-69. The game started out close until the end of the first half when the Beavers began making turnovers and missing jump shots. The Bulldogs’ own Jheri Brooker led the scoring front with 17 points, putting UMD in the lead 24-32 at halftime.
Junior forward Patrick Cassidy earned four rebounds, while Rongstad topped the scoring with nine points followed closely by senior guard Seth Haake who scored 8 points. The Beavers ended the half in the lead 32-29.
The second half of the game was played at a steady pace with BSU leading. The Bulldogs started to fall behind by 10 points consistently but would quickly catch back up, finally pulling ahead when Ryan Ramsussen got a 3-pointer, making the score 50-52 with 11 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs maintained the leading score until the last couple minutes, when Walters tied the game with another 3-pointer at 69.
"We knew we were down," Cassidy said. "But we weren't out. It was all about staying together as a team and working hard."
That wasn't the only victory on Saturday. Haake celebrated his 1,000 point mark in his basketball career as a Beaver, and totalled 23 points and five rebounds during the game.
When asked what contributed to the win, Rongstad who finished with 15 points explained, "The last week of practice we really focused on concentrating and playing smart."
The Beavers fell behind quickly in the second half. They started to improve their defense, switching back and forth between zone and man to man, but with continual fouling, they allowed the Bulldogs to earn too many free throws.
With 10 minutes left in the game, freshmen gaurd Shannon Thompson threw a fast break down to freshmen guard Katie Pettit, who then scored. The Beavers were close, only down by five points, with the score at 43-48. During the rest of the second half the ladies struggled to make their attempted layups.
Pettit hit a couple 3-pointers, making her the leading scorer for the Beavers with a total of 12 points. Still, the Beavers were unable to catch back up and stayed down by more than 10 points for the rest of the game. Junior center Colleen McKay was the leading rebounder for the Beavers, matching her stats with nine points and nine rebounds.
Both men's and women's basketball will be back in Bemidji on Feb. 5 and 6 when they take on Concordia of St. Paul and St. Cloud State University. The women's team plays at 6 p.m., men's team at 8 p.m.
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