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MOORHEAD -- As the shot went up, Derek Thompson turned to box out. He used his body to clear space, shielding his path to the ball and grabbing the 695th rebound of his career.
Once he secured possession, Thompson was the new rebounding king in Bemidji State men’s basketball history.
Thompson broke Steve Vogel’s 44-year-old program record with the board, a milestone that speaks to his consistency, durability and flat-out talent in his five years at BSU .
Unfortunately for the Beavers, though, their late comeback fell a bucket or two shy, as Minnesota State Moorhead snuck out an 83-77 victory in Moorhead.
The rally was gaining steam deep in the game. The Dragons led 43-37 at halftime and built up a 15-point lead with 12 minutes to play, but Bemidji State roared back with a 13-0 run in the second half. Thompson grabbed his record-breaking rebound during the run, and Cody Landwehr’s layup suddenly brought BSU as close as 66-64 with 7:47 to go.
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MSUM (13-11, 8-7 NSIC) weathered the immediate storm, but a John Sutherland dunk off Thompson’s feed kept the Beavers within 78-75 with 2:37 remaining.
The momentum stopped there, though. The Dragons scored the next five points -- all from the free-throw line -- and BSU didn’t score again until a harmless jumper at the buzzer slashed the difference from eight to six.
Travis Bianco led Bemidji State with 21 points. Sutherland and Mohamed Kone each put up 12 alongside 11 from Tyler Behrendt. Thompson finished with four points and nine boards, moving his career rebound total to 699.
Lorenzo McGhee (18 points), Jaden Stanley-Williams (17) and Gatdoar Kueth (17) led the winning charge for MSUM.
The Beavers (7-16, 4-15 NSIC) remain two games back of St. Cloud State for the sixth and final playoff spot, now with two games left to play.
Bemidji State closes the regular season next weekend, visiting Minnesota Duluth at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17, and then hosting SCSU at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the BSU Gymnasium.
Minnesota State Moorhead 83, Bemidji State 77
BSU 37 40 -- 77
MSUM 43 40 -- 83
BEMIDJI STATE (7-16, 4-15 NSIC) -- Bianco 21, Kone 12, Sutherland 12, Behrendt 11, Albrecht 6, Landwehr 6, Thompson 4, Ewefada 3, Lowman 2. Totals: 30-64 FGs, 6-16 3-pt. FGs, 11-13 FTs.
MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD (13-11, 8-7 NSIC) -- McGhee 18, Kueth 17, Stanley-Williams 17, Baumgartner 12, Myren 8, Zimmer 7, Irsfeld 3, Kaiser 1. Totals: 28-64 FGs, 11-25 3-pt. FGs, 16-22 FTs.
