Box Score Post-Game Interview with Jeff Oseth

CROOKSTON, Minn.-  The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team fell 78-63 to Bemidji State University Sat., Nov. 30 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Beavers used a 13-0 run at the end of the first half to overcome UMC and they would not look back as they won 78-63. Minnesota Crookston had closed to within one point at the 3:09 mark but three of BSU's seniors Zach Noreen, Maxie Rosenbloom and Jake Schalow led the charge as the Beavers went into the break ahead 46-32. BSU would build on that momentum to get up by as much as 21 in the second half. UMC would get to within 15 points, but no closer, in the second half.

Saturday's game was the conference opener for both squads. BSU improved to 4-1 (1-0 NSIC) with the win. UMC fell to 3-2 (0-1 NSIC) with the loss. Bemidji State head coach Mike Boschee improves to 3-0 in the all-time series against Golden Eagle head coach Jeff Oseth. Oseth is in his 12th season at UMC, while Boschee is in just his second with the Beavers.

Minnesota Crookston would finish the game shooting 23-of-56 from the field for 41.1 percent and were 5-of-17 from beyond the arc for 29.4 percent. The Golden Eagles were led by the play of Tyler West, Jr. (Jr., F, Portland, Ore./Communications), who finished with 14 points, and Ashton Harrell (Sr., G, Houston, Texas/Sports and Rec Management), who tallied 14 points and five rebounds. West was 6-of-10 from the field while Harrell was 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Tim Lubke (Jr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) added nine points off of the bench on three-made treys for the Golden Eagles.

UMC finished the game with 15 turnovers and were out-rebounded by their BSU counterparts 41-28. BSU would have 12 second-chance points as they did their part to control the offensive boards with 13 on the game led by five offensive rebounds from Rosenbloom and four from Noreen. The Golden Eagles turned over the Beavers 18 times with nine steals, led by three apiece from West and Derrick Redd (So., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management).

Minnesota Crookston was led on the boards by Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La./Sports and Rec Management), who finished with six. Kevin Larson (Jr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) finished with five assists and no turnovers for the Golden Eagles, while D.J. Hervy had five helpers for the Beavers.

Bemidji State shot 29-of-58 for the game for 50.0 percent. They were 7-of-22 from long range for 31.8 percent and 13-of-19 for 68.4 percent from the charity stripe. BSU was led on the game by a double-double from Noreen, who had 21 points and 10 boards. Junior college transfer Brock Lutes added 23 points and seven boards while Schalow chipped in 11, with three treys.

Noreen led BSU on the boards with 10 while Rosenbloom had eight and Lutes had seven. The Beavers also had a very strong day defensively in the post as they had seven blocks with five from Noreen and two from Rosenbloom.

Bemidji State came out from the on-set with high energy and controlled things in the early going, getting out to an 11-point lead after a Noreen trey. The Golden Eagles would respond though and would cut the BSU lead to four points at the 11:39 mark following a Harrell three-pointer.

BSU would again get out a sizeable advantage at nine following a three from Schalow and a lay-up from Hervy. Howver, UMC would again respond and cut the Beaver advantage to three after a Lubke trey with 8:41 left in the first. Bemidji State would again get out to a nine-point lead at the 6:13 mark after a Luters lay-up. The Golden Eagles wouldn't go away as they kept up their resilience, cutting the advantage to one point with 3:09 remaining after a lay-up from West and a three from John Hughes (So., F, Tualatin, Ore./Management).

That is where things went haywire for the Golden Eagles, as Bemidji State would take over control led by five points from Schalow, four points from Rosenbloom and four from Noreen to go into the break with a 46-32 lead after UMC was so close just three minutes earlier. That would prove to be the turning point of the game.

BSU would build on that energy early in the second half to get up by 21 after an Ellwood Ellenson fast break lay-in. UMC finally cut the advantage to 16 after a Lubke three at 5:51 remaining but that would be too little too late as the Beavers would hang on.

The Golden Eagles will return to action as they continue their home stand with a game against University of Minnesota Duluth Fri., Dec. 6 at Lysaker Gymnasium and a game versus St. Cloud State University Sat., Dec. 7 at Lysaker Gymnasium.

 For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).