Jan. 17, 2003


Morris, Minn. - One week after hoisting up a then league-record 43 three-point field goal attempts, Bemidji State (7-8, 3-3) wanted more. At the P.E. Center tonight, the Beavers did just that as they set the NSIC record for three-pointers attempted (46) and tied the conference mark with 19 three-pointers in the 116-71 victory over Minnesota-Morris (2-14, 0-7). BSU held UM-M to 33 percent shooting, which is the second lowest mark on the season for a BSU opponent.

“ We shot the ball well, trapped well and played well,” summed up head coach Jeff Guiot. “There was more emotion than the Duluth game (last week). Everyone caught the ball trying to be a threat to score and being aggressive offensively. We did a good job of wearing them down.”

BSU would never trail in the contest as it scored 16 of the game’s first 22 points after two of freshman guard Kenneth Pointer’s (Killeen, Tex.) career-high 10 points made the count 16-6 at 16:04. The Cougars would bring the margin down to seven on four occasions after that, the last one being 24-17 at 9:54. However, the Beavers fired back with a 39-16 run to go in to intermission with a 63-33 lead.

Bemidji State was 55 percent (22 of 40) from the floor in the first half, including 11 of 26 from behind the arc, as three Beavers were already in double figures led by the 15 from senior guard Jeff Lorenson (Cannon Falls, Minn.). UM-Morris hit only on 33 percent (10 of 30) of its shots and were out-rebounded 26-17.

The BSU lead would only increase in the second half. At the 5:49 mark, Bemidji State held UM-M scoreless for 3:09 as the visitors scored 12 straight points and 17 of the game’s final 27 points.

“The guys played real hard,” said Guiot. “I think that they (UM-Morris) ran out of gas with about 14 minutes left in the second half. We were trapping more than usual because of our smaller line-up. But that is something that we have to adjust to.”

The game ended with BSU settling in for a 53 (39 of 74) percent mark from the field as the Cougars shot an ice-cold 33 percent (20 of 60). BSU held a +12 advantage on the boards (48-36) and forced 21 turnovers. UM-Morris went 24 of 30 (.800) from the foul line as BSU was 19-for-28 (.679).

Senior guard Royce Bryan (Haviland, Kan.) put up 19 points, one shy of his career-high in just his second game back from a hand injury that kept him out for four games. Junior forward Charles Hanks (Chicago, Ill.) had 18 and a game-high eight rebounds while Lorenson finished with 17. In addition to Pointer, two other players set personal-bests in scoring - senior guard Aaron Kallhoff (Norfolk, Neb.) scored 15 with senior guard Jason Bonde (Rochester, Minn.) netting 10.

Eric Rohy and David Holler led the Cougars with 19 points apiece.

The Beavers stay on the road for the fourth straight contest as they visit Aberdeen, S.D. to face off against Northern State. Tip-off tomorrow is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.


Notes: This is the third time the Beavers have gone over the 100-point barrier this season - they hit the century mark five times during the 1992-93 season...The 116 points is the most scored since BSU lighted the scoreboard for 126 vs. Northland (WI), Dec. 13, 1991...With the 29 assists on the night, BSU moves to 4-0 when recording 20 or more assists on the season...The +12 rebounding advantage that BSU held was the second-highest mark of the season - BSU had 13 more boards against Bethel (11-26)...With the loss, the Cougars have dropped eight straight on the season...In the overall series, BSU has taken nine of the last 10 contests...The 45-point margin of victory is the largest for BSU in the series and ties the mark set by the Cougars, Dec. 28, 1987 in a 101-56 win...The old mark for assists in game was 27 against Jamestown, Feb. 17, 1992...BSU played without centers Chris Wallin (broken foot) and Ben Caron (torn ACL) who are out with injuries - Wallin is expected to be back in 2-3 weeks while Caron is out for the year.