BOYS BASKETBALL: Bemidji falls to Detroit Lakes 73-69
BEMIDJI – The Bemidji boys basketball team will close its regular season 1:30 p.m. today at home against Duluth Denfeld and the Lumberjacks are hoping to end the season on a positive note.
Friday they also were at home against Detroit Lakes trying to earn their second win of the winter over the Lakers. Bemidji beat the Lakers 71-60 earlier this season. But the Lakers had other plans this time around.
Detroit Lakes scored five of the final six points of the first half to take a 33-32 lead at the break and maintained the advantage the rest of the way. BHS staged a late comeback but the Lakers managed to hold on for a 73-69 win over the Lumberjacks.
Bemidji, 2-22, employed a variety of defensive schemes to try and confuse the Lakers, and in the first half the tactic worked.
Jeremiah Huseby’s free throw gave Bemidji a 12-11 lead with 11 minutes to play in the opening period and another Huseby free throw and Dillon Bruns’ rebound bucket upped the cushion to 15-11.
The Jacks continued their attack and a 7-2 run increased the margin to 22-15.
Richard Seado began the spurt with a steal and a fast break hoop and, after Billy Baumgartner connected on a pair of free throws, Bruns capped the flurry with a rebound basket and a free throw.
The visitors answered with six consecutive free throws to trim the deficit to 22-21 with five minutes to play in the half and a 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the stanza tied the game at 31-31.
Detroit Lakes eventually took the lead when it converted a fast break off a Bemidji turnover and owned the 33-32 cushion at intermission.
The Lakers never relinquished the lead in the second half and midway through the stanza they upped the advantage to 56-43.
Bemidji battled back in the waning stages of the game but the visitors were able to preserve their lead by converting their free throws.
Seado scored 21 points for Bemidji and Connor McNallan had 12. Bruns finished with 11 and Baumgartner added 10.
Detroit Lakes (73): McLeod 5, 3-5, 20; Hedstrom 0, 4-4, 4; J.Lyngaas 3, 1-2, 9; Long 7, 6-6, 22; Cihak 3, 5-8, 13; Champa 0, 0-2, 0; Groth 0, 0-0, 0; Eiter 0, 1-5, 1; T.Lyngaas 2, 0-0, 4. Totals: 21, 20-32, 73
Bemidji (69): Baumgartner 3, 3-4, 10; McNallan 5, 2-5, 12; Strong 0, 0-0, 0; Ingalls 1, 0-0, 2; Seado 7, 2-4, 21; Hendricks 1, 0-0, 2; Bruns 4, 3-5, 11; Misco 1, 0-0, 2; Huseby 3, 3-7, 9; Snell 0, 0-0, 0. Totals: 25, 13-25, 69
3-point FG: Detroit Lakes 11, Bemidji 6 (Baumgartner 1, Seado 5)
Fouls: Detroit Lakes 21, Bemidji 27
Halftime: Detroit Lakes 33, Bemidji 32
