Bemidji State 63 Wayne State 53
Bemidji State used a late scoring run and a 42-27 advantage in rebounding, which included 16 offensive boards, as the Beavers downed Wayne State College 63-53 in Northern Sun Conference men's basketball played Sunday afternoon in Bemidji, Minnesota. The host Beavers improve to 7-6 on the season and 4-5 in league play while WSC falls to 9-5 overall and 5-5 in the Northern Sun Conference.
The Wildcats and Beavers battled back and forth for a good share of the first half until Bemidji State put together a pair of scoring spurts late in the half to take a 35-28 halftime lead. After Wayne State's Brad Starken sank a three pointer to put the 'Cats in front 20-17 with 9:30 to go in the first half, Bemidji State went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:16 and took a 27-22 lead following a pair of James Ellisor free throws. WSC pulled within two at 28-26 on a Ben Tasa layup with 2:21 remaining in the half, but the Beavers finished the half strong and took their biggest lead of the half at 35-28 on a Bryce Tesdahl with 11 seconds left in the half.
Bemidji State started the second half with baskets on their first two possessions, a three pointer by Mason Walters and a layup by Ellisor, to push the Beaver advantage to 40-28. Later in the half with Bemidji State leading 47-36, Wayne State made a run at the Beavers and pulled within six at 51-45 on a Brad Starken three pointer with 7:49 to play. After Ben Tasa hit one of two free throws to get WSC as close as five at 51-46, the Wildcats went scoreless over the next 4:23 allowing Bemidji State match their biggest lead of 12 at 58-46 following a Lance Rongstad layup with 2:56 left.
WSC could never recover from that scoring drought as the Wildcats had to foul Bemidji State late and the Beavers went on to the 63-53 win over Wayne State.
Wildcat senior forward Brad Starken scored a team-high 16 points to lead Wayne State offensively. Sophomore guard Amry Shelby added 14 for the Wildcats followed by senior forward Ben Tasa with 11. WSC shot 39.6 percent from the field making 21 of 53 shots. WSC was just 4 of 20 from the three point line and 7 of 9 at the charity stripe.
For Bemidji State, Lance Rongstad accounted for a game-high 17 points followed by James Ellisor with a double-double thanks to 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jake Lindstrom also reached double digits for the Beavers with 13 points. Bemidji State was 22 of 55 from the field for 40 percent, making 8 of 18 three pointers. The Beavers were 11 of 15 at the foul line.
Bemidji State held a sizeable 42-27 advantage in rebounding over Wayne State with the Beavers grabbing 16 offensive boards. Ellisor hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds for the Beavers while Wayne State's top rebounder was 5-7 junior guard Vontrell Seroyer with seven caroms. Bemidji State had 16 turnovers in the game to 13 for Wayne State.
The next action for Wayne State will be Saturday, January 15th when the Wildcats host Augustana College in a 6:00 p.m. Northern Sun Conference game at Rice Auditorium.
