Feb. 21, 2003

Bemidji, Minn. - Bemidji State (13-11, 9-6 NSIC) trailed but once after a jumper by Northern State’s (16-8, 13-3 NSIC) Jarod Obering with 1:39 remaining, but junior forward Charles Hanks (Chicago, Ill.) hit the game-winner with :09 seconds left and sent the Beavers to a 69-68 upset over league-leader NSU tonight at the BSU Gymnasium.

BSU pulled out the home win thanks to the heroics of Hanks, who ended with the game-high point total and junior forward Adam Daley’s (Des Moines, Iowa) three-point marksmanship. Daley hit a school milestone as he broke the season three-pointers mark set by Tony Brown (57) during the 1989-90 season. With four on the night, Daley stands at 59 as he also broke the attempts mark as he stands at 130 - one over the 129 by Sean O’Hare done a season ago.

“We have played well all year long and we have been in every ball game,” said head coach Jeff Guiot. “Our guys fought and scrapped on every play.”

Daley got things rolling for the Beavers with his first tri-fecta just :05 seconds into the ball game. Northern State kept things close as both squads battled through seven ties and eight lead changes in the first stanza. BSU took slight control as it rode a 11-2 run into halftime to lead 43-34. Freshman guard Jamal Clements(Parkhill, Colo.) connected on three straight long-range bombs to highlight that spurt.

Hanks already hit for 16 points in the first 20 minutes of action on seven of 11 shooting. BSU came out smoking, hitting on 59 percent (17 of 29) of its shots. On the flip side, Northern State, the conference’s second-best shooting club at 48 percent, went for 41 percent (13 of 32).

Out of the locker room, the Wolves kept it close keeping their deficit to within nine points or less until BSU went up 63-50 with 8:18 remaining. Senior guard Stan Johnson (Salt Lake City, Utah) capped a 10-2 run with a pair of foul shots. At that point, NSU held the hosts without a field goal for three minutes cutting the margin to five at 63-58.

The visitors came to within a point at 67-66 thanks to four consecutive free throws by Aaron Busack after an intentional foul whistled on Hanks. After Obering’s jumper, Sundance Wicks had a chance to pad the lead but missed both foul shots with :23 seconds left and left the door open for Hanks and the Beavers. The 6-7 forward took a pass from senior guard Royce Bryan (Haviland, Kan.) and hit a 10-foot baseline jumper to send the crowd into a frenzy. NSU’s Adam Grant missed a four-foot bank shot as the final horn sounded.

“My teammates made some great passes to get me the ball in the end,” described Hanks. “We fought hard all game and they made a run at us in the end. But, we held our composure and pulled it out.”

BSU finished 26 of 56 (.464) from the field while NSU was just 22 of 54 (.407) but held a 18-five advantage from the charity stripe. The Beavers doubled up the Wolves (12 to 6) from behind the arc. Also, BSU held a 6-3 advantage in steals to push its streak to 13 games of having more than its opponents. The Wolves had only nine turnovers, a season-low for a BSU opponent.

Daley was the only other Beaver in double-figures with 14 points as he also corralled a personal-best eight rebounds. Sundance Wicks led the way for the Wolves with 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Beavers have swept the season-series with the Wolves and currently stand tied for fourth with Winona State and idle-Wayne State (NE) after WSU lost to MSU Moorhead tonight. All three teams stand at 9-6 in NSIC play.

BSU welcomes Minnesota-Morris (2-23, 0-16 NSIC) to the BSU Gymnasium tomorrow for a 7:30 p.m. start. That contest marks the final regular season home game for seven BSU seniors.

Notes: BSU has been victorious in three straight and four of the last five contests against NSU...The last time Bemidji State swept the season-series from the Wolves was during the 1993-94 season...Both teams entered the game ranked in the top-10 in the nation in three-pointers per game - BSU was first (10.8) while NSU was ninth (9.6)...The Beavers improve to 15-6 when Charles Hanks hits for 20 or more points in his career and 13-4 at home in regular season conference games under coach Guiot...With the 21 assists on the night, BSU ties the school record for most in a season (447) established during the 1993-94 campaign...Jeff Lorenson is battling with Daley for the three-point attempts mark in a season as he stands at 129...The five made free throws by BSU is the least since it had four against Augustana, Nov. 29, 2002...With the 12 trifectas, the Beavers have hit 10 or more in 15 games this season.