Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball vs. Bemidji State: SCSU 69, BSU 51
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Huskies Come From Behind Again as Schlagel Ties Record
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Head coach Kevin Schlagel won his 231st career game when the Huskies beat Bemidji State 69-51, which ties the SCSU record for career coaching victories. |
St. Cloud, Minn. – For the second straight night the St. Cloud State men’s basketball team used a come-from-behind effort in the second half, and this time it led to a weekend sweep and the record tying 231st victory for head coach Kevin Schlagel, as his Huskies beat Bemidji State this evening (Feb. 7), 69-51.
With his 231st win, Schlagel ties himself with his predecessor, Butch Raymond, atop the all-time victory list for St. Cloud State University men’s basketball. Last season he became just the third head coach in the program’s illustrious 86-year history to win 200 career games, and now in his 12th year he has climbed all the way to the top of the victory charts. In his 12 seasons, he had amassed a career record of 231-109.
The win did not come easy, however, and St. Cloud State (16-6, 11-4) needed to fend off a pesky Bemidji State (7-15, 5-10) team to earn it.
After the Beavers extended their second-half lead to it’s widest margin at six points with the score 36-30 at the 16:39 mark, the Huskies stopped the bleeding with a 15-2 run over a six minute span to take a 45-38 lead with 10:26 left to play in the game.
Two possessions later a Taylor Witt (Morris, Minn.) three put SCSU up eight at 48-40 with less than 10 minutes to play, but four minutes later at the 6:10 mark, BSU had climbed their way back in the game and were within three at 50-47 after Seth Haake nailed a three.
After calling a timeout the Huskies put together a 14-2 run to win the game that ended with two Andrew Bernstetter (St. Joseph, Minn.) free throws at 2:26 to make the score 64-49.
Playing a key role in the second half rally was Spencer Bartz (Hinckley, Minn.) who scored all 12 of his points in the final seven minutes of the second half, and led the Huskies to a 20-8 advantage in bench points in the half.
The Beavers took a three-point lead into halftime after they scored the final four points of the half and held the Huskies off the board for final 3:04 of the period. In all the game saw six lead changes, that included Bemidji State going up by as much as seven in the first half.
Bartz and Matt Schneck (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) each led the Huskies with 12 points, while Haake led the way for the Beavers with 10 points. Bernstetter was the final player to score in double figures as he added 10 for the Huskies.
Witt scored nine points to break a run of eight straight games in double figures. SCSU shot just 42.3% from the floor, but it was enough, as their defense held BSU to a 38.5% shooting mark from the field. The Husky D also forced the Beavers into 20 turnovers, which turned into 23 points for the Huskies.
St. Cloud State has now won four straight and six out of their last seven, but they must now take their show on the road for their final two-game weekend road trip of the season. On Feb. 13 the Huskies will take on league leading Southwest Minnesota, and the following night on Feb. 14 SCSU will battle with Minnesota State who is currently tied with SCSU and Winona State for second place in the NSIC standings.
There was no movement among the top six spots in the NSIC standings today, as each team held serve with a win. Earlier in the season when SMSU and MSU paid a visit to Halenbeck Hall, the Huskies split, first falling 68-88 to the Mustangs, before snapping a three-game losing streak with a 84-78 win over then ninth ranked MSU. Minnesota State is currently ranked #21 in the country. Each tip-off is set for 8:00 pm.
Free E-Mail Updates
If you would like FREE e-mail updates about SCSU athletics, visit our Husky Sports Updates page for information on how to sign up to be on the listserv.
