BEMIDJI, Minn. – Twice last weekend the University of Mary men's basketball team held leads in the final four minutes of the ballgame before losing both games. Tonight, facing a six-point deficit with under four minutes to play, a resilient Marauders squad showed they learned a lesson as U-Mary rallied for an 81-77 road win over Bemidji State University.
Bryan Jefferson scored a career-high 33 points and
Brandon Tyler drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 73 seconds left in the game to lift the Marauders to the win. U-Mary closed the game on a 12-2 run and moved into a tie for third place in the NSIC North.
"When you have a great week of practice and play the game for each other with energy, good things happen," said Marauders head coach
Joe Kittell.
In a game that featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties with neither team ever holding more than an 8-point lead, the Beavers grabbed a 75-69 lead on a Ben Best tip-in with 3:57 left.
Instead of letting the game slip away, Jefferson led the Marauders late game surge. The junior forward scored seven straight points for U-Mary. Starting with a conventional three-point play when he was fouled making a layup, Jefferson next scored on a putback of a missed
Marquealis Edwards dunk attempt before capping a the run with a fast break basket in the paint to put the Marauders up 76-75 with 2:11 remaining.
Following misses by both teams and a Marauders turnover, Jordan Rhodes pushed BSU back in front 77-76 at 1:27 with a layup.
Undaunted, the Marauders immediately responded. Trailing the action and left alone at the top of the arc, Tyler drained a trey for a 79-77 lead and 73 seconds remaining. The triple was the lone made basket for Tyler in the game.
After Rhodes missed a shot to tie the game,
Marquealis Edwards sealed the Marauders win with 17 second left when the senior guard hit a pair of free throws.
Jefferson was the definition of unstoppable. He hit 14-of-19 shots from the field. The Aurora, Ill., also made all five free throw attempts and hauled down six rebounds.
Three other Marauders also reached double figures in scoring.
Rickey Suggs popped off the bench for 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. The junior forward also made all five of his free throws. Edwards was 5-of-6 at the free throw line and scored 11 points while distributing four assists.
Isaac Lindquist added 10 points with three rebounds.
Rhodes posted a team-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for Bemidji State. Irvin Womack added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Both teams were solid offensively. U-Mary shot 48.4 percent from the field, making an identical 15-of-31 shots in each half. Bemidji State also shot 48.4 percent for the game.
The Marauders dominated at the free throw line, making 18-of-22 while the Beavers were 5-of-9.
Looking to secure a home court berth in the opening round of the Northern Sun tournament, the Marauders improved to 15-10 overall and 10-9 in conference play. U-Mary moved into a third-place tie with Northern State University in the North Division and remained a game ahead of St. Cloud State. The Beavers slipped to 10-13 and 7-12.
U-Mary closes out the weekend at the University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, February 13, at 6 p.m.
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