BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji State men’s basketball team is hitting the reset button.
The Beavers (5-6, 2-4 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) are coming off a tough stretch to end the first half of their season, but they’re entering the second leg of the schedule with a refreshed mindset.
“It definitely freshens you up,” BSU head coach Mike Boschee said of the two-week Christmas break. “And I think you need to be fresh this time of the year. January and February, it’s a grind… It certainly helps me. I’m sure it does the same for our guys.”
Bemidji State lost three of four to close out the first half of the year, but with Upper Iowa and Winona State coming to town this weekend, they’re hopeful to turn things around.
“It’s definitely a relief to get relaxed a little bit, not be as tense anymore. Hopefully we can come in and play loose,” sophomore forward Logan Bader said. “Before break, our last couple (games were) a tough stretch. But after this break, I think we’ll be ready to go. People are going to be fired up to get some wins under our belt.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The weekend begins at 3:30 p.m. today, when the Beavers host the Peacocks (8-7, 1-5 NSIC). They’ll follow it up with a 3:30 p.m. tilt with the Warriors (8-4, 3-3 NSIC) on Sunday, Dec. 31, looking to close out the 2017 calendar year with full-game efforts.
“We’re just still trying to play as well as we possibly we can,” Boschee said. “We’ve shown that we can do that in different games, that we can play a good 40 minutes. But we haven’t done it all the time. If we can play well for 40 minutes, that’s all I’m asking.”
Though Bemidji State struggled before the holiday break, they remain fifth in the NSIC North standings and just a game out of fourth -- the final spot that earns a home playoff game. And while the postseason remains two months away, the Beavers are using the chance to refresh as a way to set themselves up for it.
“We had a few days to rest, and hopefully we can come back stronger and better than we were,” Bader said. “I think it’s a really big thing to get a win or two here this weekend. I think it’ll be good for us in the long distance. (It can) fire us up for the rest of the season to come.”
