The Bemidji State men's and women's basketball teams enter the do-or-die portion of their respective collegiate basketball seasons tonight as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament gets underway.
Both the BSU men (14-12 overall, 9-5 NSIC) and the BSU women (13-14, 6-8) meet Minnesota State-Moorhead. The women travel to Moorhead and the men host the Dragons. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
The site of the semifinals and finals has yet to be determined. The highest remaining seed following tonight's action will host the remainder of the tournament.
The winner of the NSIC tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA national tournament.
Unlike the regular season where the Beavers were able to come out the following week and play again win or lose, a loss ends their respective season.
ADVERTISEMENT
The BSU men and women are 1-1 versus the Dragons. The men won 74-73 in Moorhead and lost in overtime 82-76 at the BSU Gymnasium. The women lost 62-50 in Moorhead but won 77-61 in Bemidji.
Katie Walden led the MSUM women (14-13, 7-7) in both contests scoring 14 points in each game.
BSU's women shot a dismal 24 percent in the loss at Moorhead but six players hit double figures in the win at Bemidji. Stephanie Peterson and Amy Lawson both netted 14 points while Karlee Simonson and Katherine Bremmer each hit 11 and Maggie Gernbacher and Nancy McConkey ended with 10 points each.
Since the win over the Dragons Peterson has been on a role. She has led the Beavers in the last three games averaging 17.7 points per game.
The loss in Bemidji started a 3-game losing skid for the MSUM women. They dropped the final two games of the regular season to top-seeded Wayne State and No. 7 seed Southwest Minnesota State University.
The MSUM men have had the pleasure the last two seasons of matching up with the Beavers the night after BSU battled Northern State, who ranks No. 20 nationally this season. The results were two wins for the Dragons.
Marcus Ebow and Blake Strouth lit up the Beavers in MSUM's OT win in Bemidji. Ebow led the night with 28 points - 15 points from 3-point range - and Strouth had 23.
Derik Hollyfield led the Beavers in that game with 17 points. Duane Fields added 16, Stacy Person-Taylor 14 and Manuel Guzman 10. Pearson-Taylor also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
ADVERTISEMENT
A win by the BSU women would put them in the semifinals for just the second time in school history. They last made it past the first round in 2004. BSU women's coach Mike Curfman led Minnesota-Crookston to the finals in 2003 as a No. 7 seed.
The BSU men have advanced past the first round the last four seasons but are 0-4 in the following semifinal games.
The winner of the women's game plays the winner of No. 1 Wayne State and No. 8 UMC.
The winner of the men's game plays the winner of No. 2 Northern State and No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul.
Semifinals will be played Saturday and the finals Sunday.
