HIGHLIGHTS
• Senior center Brett Ervin led the way with 30 points as four Bulldogs hit double-digits scoring. Junior forward Brendon Pineda and junior guard Pierre Newton each put up matching 18-point, six-rebound performances, leading UMD in the latter category, while junior guard Taylor Lavery added 16. Sophomore forward Treyton Daniels was the only other Bulldog to crack the score sheet with one bucket for two points.
• The Beavers were led by senior guard Brock Lutes, who posted a second-straight double-digit scoring output against UMD with 25 points on 11-of-24 shooting. Freshman guard Clayton Elrod has 13 points, making his first four shots on the night, while five players hit double figures for BSU.
 

The Bulldogs opened on a 10-0 run, eventually leading 15-4 - the high-water mark for UMD on the night as Bemidji then opened its own 9-0 run to cut the lead, and eventually tie the game at 19-all. The teams tied three more times before the Beavers cut another run, 7-0 to make it 38-31. and eventually take a 10-point halftime lead to the locker room at 44-34. "Give Bemidji credit, they made some adjustments ... and we didn't adjust to them, and left some shooters wide open," said head coach Matt Bowen after the game, as the Beavers went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and shot 60.7 percent from the floor. "It put us in a tough spot going into that first half. You hope that they're not going to shoot 62 percent from three, and if they do, there's not a lot you can do about it. Water always kind of finds its level, and that happened in the second half."

The Beavers were just 1-for-10 from long distance in the second half, but still shot an even 50 percent, but where the Bulldogs made headway was at the free-throw line, scoring 15 points on 17 shots while going 3-for-7 from range and 47.8 percent overall. "It's been a big part in our success this season.In this game alone, we started the game attacking, got up 13-2 and had a nice advantage in fouls to where we could live on the line which is a good advantage for us. From there, we settled for jump shots and got passive, and that's where we ended up down ten," said Bowen "We come out in the second half after a bit of motivational speaking by my staff, and we get back to a foul advantage. It's nothing more than athletes driving to the basket and trying to create contact. It made a big difference for us late in the night." The difference was almost immediate as UMD trimmed the ten-point lead down to four at 49-45, eventually tying the game and then taking the lead at 59-56 when Ervin nailed his lone three-pointer of the night. The senior would again play a role late in the game, nailing a game-tying free throw to send the game to overtime.

The foul advantage continued into the overtime session as a pair of BSU players fouled out, with Lavery putting the game on ice with a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. As a team, UMD shot 51.0 percent on the night while holding Bemidji went 54.0 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs scored 28 points at the line, more than double the attempts (12) for the Beavers, who had six points at the line on the night.
 

The Bulldogs continue their homestand tomorrow afternoon when they play host to another NSIC North rival as the University of Minnesota-Crookston comes to town. Opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m. at Romano Gym, following the women's contest.