Feb. 15, 2003

Bemidji, Minn. - Behind the season-high 27 points and 11 boards by junior forward Charles Hanks, (Chicago, Ill.) Bemidji State (12-11, 8-6) maintained its slim hope of hosting a playoff game by defeating Minnesota-Duluth (13-10, 9-5) handily, 90-67 at the BSU Gymnasium tonight.

The Beavers never trailed in a game that featured them connecting on 11 three-pointers as they entered the contest tops in the nation in long-range bombs per game (10.8). The long-range display put BSU into the school record books as well. It broke last seasons mark of 245 three-pointers and 694 attempts - it stands at 248 threes and 700 attempts.

“UM-Duluth is a solid team and this is a good win for us,” said head coach Jeff Guiot. “I have told the guys we can beat anybody in the country when we play together. We had a good week of practice and it carried over into tonight’s game. I was impressed with our effort tonight.”

BSU forced the Bulldogs into a time-out just 1:33 into the contest after connecting on its first three trifectas courtesy of senior guards Jeff Lorenson (Cannon Falls, Minn.), Royce Bryan (Haviland, Kan.) and Stan Johnson (Salt Lake City, Utah). UM-D could only shrink the deficit to seven points on two occasions with the first one at 16-9 with 15:31 remaining in the first half. Bemidji State countered with a 31-23 spurt to end the half and lead 47-32 at the half.

Hanks, who had 21 at the half, scored 11 straight during the half-ending run. The Beavers forced 11 turnovers and held UM-D to 40 percent shooting while going 55 percent themselves in the first 20 minutes of action.

Out of the half, 2001-02 All-NSIC performer Jason Schneeweis notched eight straight points to bring his squad within seven at 47-40 for the second and final time. However, the hosts countered with a 18-4 run to put the game out of reach. BSU hit six straight buckets and all three foul shots at one point during that stretch. The BSU cushion never evaporated under the 16-point mark from that point on.

The Beavers went for their highest field goal percentage since they hit 60 percent of their shots in the 91-84 loss to St. Cloud State, Dec. 5, 2002. UM-Duluth shot only 44 percent (27 of 61) and an icy 27 percent (seven of 26) from long-range. Bemidji State held a 19-6 advantage from the charity stripe and went 11 of 24 (.458) from three-point land.

Behind Hanks season-high for points and ninth career double-double was Lorenson with 16 from and Bryan and Johnson with 12 apiece. The other BSU starter in junior guard Adam Daley (Des Moines, Iowa) chipped in nine points. Johnson tied a career-high with eight assists as he led the Beavers to 22 for the game, the eighth game in 2002-03 with 20 or more assists.

Schneeweis seemed to be UM-D’s only threat as he scored 24 points on 11 of 16 shooting and grabbed 10 caroms. Sean Seaman netted 12 with the no other player scoring over seven points.

“It is amazing how well you do on tests when you study,” said Guiot. “Practice is like studying, the more you study, the better you play. I think we accomplished that tonight.”

The final regular season home-stand awaits the Beavers with Northern State and Minnesota-Morris coming to town. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. with the game against the Wolves being Friday night.


Notes: In the overall series, Bemidji State has taken four of the last seven meetings and ended a two-game Bulldog win streak...BSU holds the Bulldogs 12 points below its season average of 79.2 points a contest and the league-leader in field goal percentage at 49 percent per game hits for only 44 percent...The Beavers improve to 11-2 this season when leading at the half and are 12-4 at home in regular season NSIC games under coach Guiot...Since 1972, BSU now goes to 5-25 on its home court against the Bulldogs...Adam Daley is just two three-point field goals shy of the school season record of 57 and five attempts away from the attempts mark of 129...Jeff Lorenson is a mere four three-point field goal attempts shy of the school record as he sits at 125...With 11 three’s on the night, BSU has hit for at least 10 in 14 games this season...Charles Hanks now averages 19.6 points per game in NSIC action - +2.5 above his season average.