[box score]

Jan. 10, 2004

BEMIDJI, MINN. -- The Bemidji State men’s basketball team is finally opening up some eyes around the league, moving to 4-0 in the NSIC for the first time since the 1971-72 season for the program. The Beavers ran by Minnesota-Crookston, 81-61, tonight at the BSU Gymnasium for their ninth straight NSIC regular season victory and sixth consecutive at home against league foes.

BSU, which improves to 9-6 overall, now sits atop the league standings with the Wayne State loss at Northern State tonight. The Beavers were picked to finish fourth in the NSIC Preseason Poll and have already beaten two of the top three league favorites. Minnesota-Crookston drops to 2-13 overall and 0-4 in the NSIC.

Senior Charles Hanks led all scorers with 27 points, his 15th consecutive double-digit scoring effort. The All-American forward has topped the club in scoring in 11 contests.

The Beaver defense put the clamps down on the Golden Eagle offense limiting the guests to four-of-16 (.250) shooting in the first 12:43 of the first half. Also, UM-C had nine turnovers during that stretch. Meanwhile, BSU was 15-for-24 (.625), including six-of-10 from long distance, sprinting out to a 36-9 lead. That game-opening drive put the game out of reach for the Golden Eagles as BSU went up 44-21 at the half.

UM-C could only get as near as 17 on a couple occasions, the last being 42-59, with 8:41 remaining in the game. From there, BSU ballooned to a 23-point advantage thanks to a lay-up by junior James Roberson, a jumper by senior Adam Daley and a three-pointer by junior Sherwin Johnson. The hosts had no trouble in wrapping up their best league start in 32 seasons.

For the game, BSU was 33-of-71 (.465) from the field, including 10-of-25 (.400) from beyond the arc. UM-C was just 24-of-61 (.393) overall and five-of-19 (.263) from three-point land. The Golden Eagles finished with 21 turnovers while BSU held a slight edge on the boards (38-37).

Besides Hanks’ good play in the post, Daley chipped in 13 points with three treys and Johnson and Roberson ended with 11 points apiece. Roberson and sophomore Kenneth Pointer tied team-high assists honors with six each. In 10 minutes off the bench, junior Ian Atkins grabbed six rebounds.

Bilal Hill led UM-C with 16 points on six-of-12 shooting. Lee Roberts and Adam Sullivan came away with 11 points apiece.

BSU looks forward to hosting Minnesota State, Moorhead next Tuesday, Jan. 13 for a 8:00 p.m. tip-off at the BSU Gymnasium. The Dragons, which defeated SW Minnesota State, 77-69 tonight at home to move to 3-1 in the league, ended BSU’s 2002-03 season in the NSIC Semifinals.


NOTE: In the all-time series, BSU holds a 23-11 mark against UM-C...The 1971-72 club won its first eight league contests when BSU was a member of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference...Under coach Jeff Guiot, BSU moves to 14-5 in the month of January and the Beavers are 15-2 when holding their opposition under 40 percent shooting...Charles Hanks moved past Frank Kopetka into sixth-place on the BSU Career Scoring List with his 27 points tonight; he sits with 1,285 points, needing 50 for the fifth spot...Holding Minnesota-Crookston to 21 first half points is the lowest total since BSU limited Wisconsin-Superior to 18 points after 20 minutes of play, Dec. 2, 2002...The 21 BSU assists is the sixth time it has gone over 20 this season...The 12 team fouls is a season-low for the Green and the White...BSU is 11-3 in its last 14 home contests.