BEMIDJI -- The community鈥檚 children came out in masses for Bemidji Youth Basketball Day on Monday night, creating for a fun environment in Bemidji鈥檚 first-ever crosstown showdown. The kids cheered all throughout a Bemidji State men鈥檚 basketball win over Oak Hills Christian, 115-50, from the BSU Gymnasium.
鈥淚t was great. It turned out the way I wanted it to turn out,鈥� Bemidji State head coach Mike Boschee said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on Thanksgiving break and all our students are gone. It gave us a good atmosphere. The kids were really loud. I think our guys really enjoyed it and appreciated it.鈥�
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鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 thank these guys enough for having us over,鈥� Oak Hills head coach Jeremy Anderson added. 鈥淚t was a lot of fun. We don鈥檛 get these opportunities very often. It鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e ever played BSU.鈥�
As for the game, the Wolfpack hung around early before the Beavers stormed away with one of their biggest offensive showcases in program history.
Oak Hills (1-6) battled through the first eight minutes with a 15-14 lead, thanks to seven points from Ezekiel Cook and six from Jaren Brooks. The Beavers (3-2) took control from there, however, with a 16-0 run to double up the Wolfpack, 30-15.
The surge continued towards the end of the half, highlighted by Lucas Wendt鈥檚 posterizing dunk -- his third slam of the half -- over two defenders that helped Bemidji State go up 49-27 by the break.
鈥淲e also had to respect the other team,鈥� Wendt said, 鈥渂ut we kinda knew that we were better. We just had to come out and play hard, like we would play any other team in a conference game. We were hoping we would pull out, and we did.鈥�
The Beavers continued to light up the scoreboard in the second half, opening with 25 of the first 30, finished off by a Derek Thompson transition layup. The difference hit 50 when Zach Baumgartner sunk a free throw to make it 85-35, and then triple digits came on a Baumgartner three for a 100-45 score.
After a layup for each Griffin Chase and Thompson closed the book for BSU, the score went final at 115-50 -- the largest margin of victory in Bemidji State program history.
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鈥淎 lot of the guys who don鈥檛 get their name in the paper or a lot of playing time are still pretty darn good players,鈥� said Boschee. 鈥淭hey work hard every day, they鈥檙e getting better every day, and it was nice that they could go out there and showcase their abilities tonight.鈥�
Seven players hit double figures for the Beavers. Wendt led BSU with 17, followed by 15 from Mike Shepski and 14 from Jai鈥橵ionne Green. Thompson and Jacob McNallan tallied 12 apiece, and Baumgartner and Sharif Black each threw in 11 for good measure.
For the Wolfpack, Cook netted a game-high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds, while Brooks added another 11 to the Oak Hills cause.
鈥淲e鈥檙e deep. We have a deep squad. We have a bunch of kids off the bench that can score,鈥� said Wendt. 鈥淚 think, if we use the bench, we can come out in a lot of games comes conference.鈥�
On the other end, meanwhile, the Wolfpack still hope the night can help in the long run.
鈥淚t could either be something that really catapults us, that we can play good teams and know what that鈥檚 like, so we鈥檙e able to step up,鈥� said Anderson, 鈥渙r, getting beat by 65, it could go the opposite way with confidence levels鈥� I鈥檓 hoping that we can use this to get better.鈥�
Bemidji State will now turn to its conference schedule for a 4 p.m. road test against Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, Nov. 25. Oak Hills is off to face William Penn at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, in Aberdeen, S.D.
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Bemidji State 115, Oak Hills Christian 50
OHCC 27 23 -- 50
BSU 49 66 -- 115
Oak Hills Christian (1-6) -- Cook 20; Brooks 11; Abalos 6; Govan 5; Dragt 2; Peterson 2; Harris 2; Anderson 2; Jasso 0; Lennox 0; Weeks 0. Totals 19-62 8-15 50.
Bemidji State (3-2) -- Wendt 17; Shepski 15; Green 14; Thompson 12; McNallan 12; Baumgartner 11; Black 11; Bader 8; Sorenson 7; Chase 4; Pekarek 4; Yetka 0; Rovney 0. Totals 39-72 23-30 115.
