BEMIDJI -- The young Bemidji State men’s basketball team is still working through some growing pains in pursuit of its first victory on the season.
The Beavers (0-2) are matched up with Concordia-St. Paul and Northland College this week, where they’ll get their next shots at victory.
“We haven’t found the right combination to get us playing at a high level right now,” said head coach Mike Boschee. “We’ll work our way through it. I do like the group, we’re working hard, they’re fun to coach, and we’ll just keep hammering away.”
Coming off opening-week losses to Lindenwood (62-44) and Central Missouri (80-65) in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. last weekend, Bemidji State will travel south for a non-conference game against Concordia-St. Paul at 6 p.m. today and then return home to face Northland College at 6 p.m. Friday.
“I know it’s a non-conference game, but it will still count in the long run,” said senior Ben Best of the matchup with the Golden Bears. “Hopefully we can get a win there this weekend, and then come home and take care of business against Northland.”
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Against Lindenwood, the Beavers found themselves down 8-0 before getting on the scoreboard. And then against Central Missouri, BSU was down 11 by the time its offense found a way to score -- something Best knows needs to change moving forward.
“We just gotta focus on getting off to a better start,” he said. “Getting down (8-0), 11-0, and then giving up runs in the second half… that can’t happen. We just gotta be more focused and ready to go at the tip.”
“If you don’t come out right away, teams will bash you. And then it’s kinda hard to battle back,” freshman Jai’Vionne Green said. “I think we have to play better defense. We have some good defensive players, but as a team we’re not good defensively, not that good yet.”
Despite its losses in Wisconsin Dells, Bemidji State will get another crack at a win with its young core this weekend. But if they’re going to end up on the right side of the scoreboard, Boschee knows the seniors will have to set the tone.
“If we’re gonna play at a high level, Ben Best, Will Harvey and Shane White have to be the guys that are leading the way that are showing the young guys what it takes,” he said. “How successful we can become (depends) on the consistency of those guys from game to game. If we’re able to do that, it should be a much more enjoyable ride.”
