BEMIDJI -- The streak is over for the Bemidji State men鈥檚 basketball team, 70-68 victors over U-Mary on Saturday and snappers of a five-game losing skid.
The Beavers only scored three points in the final three minutes, but they never let the lead slip against the Marauders by forcing the visitors to miss five of their final six shots -- including a would-be game-winning half-court heave at the buzzer.
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U-Mary (3-5, 3-3 NSIC North) cut within 69-68 on a layup with 27 seconds to go, then got the ball back after BSU鈥檚 front-end miss on single-bonus free throws. The Marauders had two chances for the go-ahead shot, but both attempts met unfriendly rims and saw to it that Bemidji State walked out with its first victory since the season opener.
Much of the first half was tightly contested, but Derek Thompson helped open up a double-digit lead for the Beavers (2-6, 1-5 NSIC North) with an and-one bucket 10 minutes into the game. The difference held at 35-25 on a Cody Landwehr free throw, and soon after Mohamed Kone made a layup in the closing moments for a 39-31 game at the break.
Shortly after the halftime speeches, Thompson scored in the paint for an 11-point edge at 44-33. But then the Marauders started to come back, including a 7-0 run to close within 49-47.
The difference quickly ballooned back out to eight, then slowly deflated back down to one, yet the Beavers never allowed U-Mary to unleash a dagger that would have turned the tides for good.
BSU had four scorers in double figures. That included 13 apiece from Thompson and Tyler Behrendt, plus 11 from Nick Wagner and a career-high 10 from Dalton Albrecht.
Bemidji State also overcame 31 points from Trever Kaiser, who led the Marauders on 12-for-27 shooting.
The Beavers return to the road next weekend, where they鈥檒l face Minot State on Jan. 29-30 in Minot, N.D. Friday鈥檚 game will start at 6 p.m. and Saturday鈥檚 at 2 p.m.
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Bemidji State 70, U-Mary 68
U-M 31 37 -- 68
BSU 39 31 -- 70
U-MARY (3-3, 3-5 NSIC) -- Kaiser 31, Kreklow 13, Carr 7, Mayer 6, Warrens 6, Sipes 3, Jordan 2, Amundson 0, Johnson 0, Mattern 0. Totals: 28-70 FGs, 6-8 FTs, 68.
BEMIDJI STATE (2-6, 1-5 NSIC) -- Behrendt 13, Thompson 13, Wagner 11, Albrecht 10, Chase 8, Landwehr 8, Kone 7, Olson 0. Totals 27-60 FGs, 8-13 FTs, 70.
