BEMIDJI 鈥� Jaxon Boschee was transcendent on Thursday night. But he couldn鈥檛 quite will the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys basketball team to a win against St. Cloud Tech at the BHS Gymnasium.
The Tigers came out playing fast and physically to build an 18-point lead near the end of the first half. Bemidji countered with a 6-0 spurt right before halftime.
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Yet try as they might, the Jacks couldn鈥檛 cut into the deficit enough in the second half. They fell 87-76 despite a new career high from Boschee, who finished with 40 points. That was three more than Tameron Ferguson, the leading scorer in the state, managed for Tech.
鈥淭ech is one of the most athletic teams we play,鈥� said BHS head coach Steve Thompson. 鈥淭hey have some length also. So they were a tough test for us tonight for sure.鈥�
Led by Ferguson, who entered Thursday averaging 35.4 points per game, the Tigers (13-5) were firing on all cylinders during a bountiful first half. They were on pace to score over 100 points for a significant portion of the opening frame and built a 44-26 advantage over the Lumberjacks.
But from that point forward, Bemidji (8-11) dug in and made it a game. The Jacks outscored Tech by seven points the rest of the way and got within five points multiple times during the second half.
鈥淭hey shot it really well tonight, which in a lot of the film that I watched, they hadn't shot it well,鈥� said Thompson of the Tigers. 鈥淪o tonight, (that鈥檚) a credit to the other shooters on their team that came out and hit some big shots for them. ... If you would have told me (we鈥檇 get back in the game) in the first half, I would have probably been surprised. So I was pleasantly surprised with the way that we battled back and competed the rest of the game.鈥�
Of course, St. Cloud Tech wasn鈥檛 going anywhere either, and the Tigers made the Lumberjacks scratch and claw for every chunk they took out of the big lead. Despite Bemidji鈥檚 resurgent comeback push, Tech鈥檚 sizable first-half surge still ended up being the difference in the game.
鈥淭hat kind of run is really tough to overcome against a team as good as St. Cloud Tech is,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥�(It鈥檚) a credit to our boys. We battled back and we cut it to five a couple of times. I was really proud of the grit we displayed tonight.鈥�
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The crowd in attendance was treated to a high-caliber scoring duel between Boschee and Ferguson, one that frequently swung the contest in either team鈥檚 direction. Boschee鈥檚 late 3-pointers were essential to keep Bemidji within striking distance, and Ferguson converted multiple layups and free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for SCT.
鈥淛axon shot it really well in the second half, but there were a number of boys that helped him, chipped in along the way,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淒awson Oelrich鈥檚 first-half performance, where he came in and scored six for us, really sparked us leading into the second half. 鈥� (Jaxon鈥檚) a special shooter. I mean, you have to come down here and watch to see it. I've never coached anyone quite like him. He is something else. (But) all the boys did a lot of good things tonight."
St. Cloud Tech 87, Bemidji 76
SCT 44 43 鈥� 87
BHS 32 44 鈥� 76
BEMIDJI 鈥� Boschee 40, Brown 9, Luksik 8, Oelrich 8, Huseby 7, Riewer 4.
ST. CLOUD TECH 鈥� Ferguson 37, Baynes 13, Traore 10, Harris 5, Leiser 4, Abdi 2, Boyongo 2, Henke 2.
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