Feb. 8, 2003

Crookston, Minn. - With seven ties and lead changes under five minutes, the game was not decided until the NSIC’s leading scorer, Joe Hasz, sent Bemidji State (11-11, 7-6 NSIC) home with a 88-85 loss after his desperation heave sent the Lysaker Gym crowd into a frenzy.

The loss put a serious damper on BSU’s run to host a playoff game as it was the fifth seed prior to the start of the game. Minnesota-Crookston (3-16, 2-10 NSIC) notched just it’s first victory after eight straight losses and gave itself a chance to become the eighth seed in the league. It currently is a game back of Concordia-St. Paul. The top four seeds host the first round of the conference playoffs.

The Golden Eagles got on top early as they opened the contest on a 16-4 run. BSU countered with a 14-0 run to take their first lead at 18-16 with 13:14 remaining. In a first half that saw seven lead changes, Crookston stormed into the locker room with an eight point half-time lead on 20-for-32 shooting. UM-C held an advantage as big as 14 before the Beavers closed out the half scoring seven of the final nine points.

BSU was held to 37 percent (13 of 35) shooting with 10 of those field goals coming from the three-point variety. Junior forward Charles Hanks (Chicago, Ill.) tallied 10 points and five boards in the first 20 minutes of action. UM-C held a 24-13 advantage on the glass.

Trailing 48-39, junior forward Adam Daley (Des Moines, Iowa) hit on one of his career-high six trifecta’s to cut the deficit to six at 60-54. However, the hosts responded by scoring the next five points as they held the lead until 9:30. At that point, Daley swished in a long-range bomb to put BSU up 71-69. With the score tied at 82-82 at the 1:51 mark, Daley sank one of two free throws to put BSU up by the slimmest of margins. However, the Golden Eagles notched three points to go up 85-83 with 16.5 seconds remaining. After a BSU time-out, senior guard Royce Bryan (Haviland, Kan.) knocked down both foul shots to tie the score with five seconds remaining. From there, Hasz’s heroics was the difference.

UM-Crookston shot 57 percent (34 of 60), the second highest for a BSU opponent on the season. BSU heated up in the second, going 14 of 27 (.519) but only finished at a 44 percent clip. The battle of the boards belonged to the Golden Eagles (41-27). Also, BSU finished 17 of 38 (.447) from three-point range.

Daley went for a career-high 23 points as he was an efficient eight of 10 from the floor. Hanks was next with 19 and eight rebounds, narrowly missing his fourth straight game with a double-double. Senior guard Stan Johnson (Salt Lake City, Utah) had 16 with senior guards Jeff Lorenson (Cannon Falls, Minn.) and Bryan chipping in 11 apiece.

All but five of BSU’s points came from its starters as UM-C held a 23-5 advantage in points off the bench.
Hasz, who brings in over 20 a game, led all scorers with 27 as he went for five three-pointers. Justin Kelley added a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Bemidji State embarks on a three-game home swing as it hosts Minnesota-Duluth next Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p. m. at the BSU Gymnasium.

Notes: In the last meeting, the Beavers won by 40 in Bemidji, Minn. and were victors in five of the last six before tonight’s loss...UM-C has now won the last three when played in Crookston, Minn...BSU has hit on at least 10 three-pointers in nine of the last 10 games...The green and white fall to 9-4 when connecting on more than 10 three-pointers and 6-1 when totaling more than 20 assists as it had 21 tonight...Adam Daley’s old career high was 21 vs. Northern State, Jan. 18, 2003...The 17 three-pointers is two shy of the league and school record set by BSU against UM-Morris (1/17//03).