“We’ve worked on defense since Oct. 15 and it has finally started to sync in,” said head coach Matt Bowen. “(On defense) I thought tonight we had energy, were in the right position and had awareness on our switches and the result was much better on the field goal percentage and points. We’re clicking on the right areas to go into conference play and if we can continue on this pace who knows how good we’ll get.”
The Beavers have been working on defense all season long and Monday made strides in the right direction, allowing just 60 points and holding the Jimmies to 32.8 percent shooting. BSU forced 15 turnovers and had five blocks in the game, while again shooting the ball well, tallying 52.3 percent from the field for the game. The Beavers shot 7-for-17 (41.2%) from beyond the arc and had 29 free throws, making 22.
The two teams started slow, trading baskets through the first six minutes of the game, sitting at a 9-9 tie. The Beavers then got on a roll and rattled off 10 straight points to nab a 19-9 advantage with 8:26 left in the first half. BSU hovered around a 10 point lead for the remainder of the half, owning a 42-33 lead at the half. Ellisor had 18 points and five rebounds at the break.
The Jimmies continued to hang around early in the second half and with 13 minutes reading on the clock the score red 50-41 in favor of the Beavers. BSU then closed the door with back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Jake Lindstrom (Cottage Grove, Minn.) and junior guard Bryce Tesdahl (Crosby, Minn.). The Beavers kept the double-digit lead through the final buzzer, thanks to forcing the Jimmies into a lot of fouls early. BSU was in the bonus just after the media timeout at 10 minutes.
Tesdahl finished with 16 points and six assists, shooting 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. Senior forward Patrick Cassidy (St. Paul, Minn.) found his rhythm from 3-point land after hitting the tying 3-pointer against University of Wisconsin-Stout Nov. 23 with just over a minute to play. He hit three from downtown Monday, totalling 14 points and adding seven rebounds.
The Beavers (3-1) now begin Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Dec. 3 against Minnesota State University Moorhead at the BSU Gymnasium.
Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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