Kirsch Scores 24, Connelly 20
Kearney, Neb. – The Bemidji State Beavers sunk 17 three pointers and had a plus nine rebounding margin to get past Nebraska Kearney, 96-90, Friday night in Duluth, Minn. The game was part of the annual American Family Insurance Classic. The Lopers face tourney host and 7th-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Saturday at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs rolled Southern Arkansas, 93-74, in Friday's late game. UNK had one of its best three-point shooting nights in school history, sinking 15 of 33 attempts. The make total is two off the school-record with four different players making at least one. However, BSU was 17 of 27 from behind the arc to lead for about 30 minutes. The Beavers scored nine of the first 11 points and was up 28-18 midway through the first half before the Lopers got hot and went on a 15-5 run. The spurt, obviously, featured triples as forward Ryder Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) and guard Cam Binder (Auburn) each nailed one. While BSU opened up another small lead, a Binder half-court three at the buzzer made it 49-48 Beavers at the break. Finishing the game shooting 56% from the field, UNK dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half as they held leads of 64-58 and 73-63. However, Bemidji grabbed the lead back on the strength of a 24-12 run that included six threes. That made it 87-85 with 3:13 to play but the Lopers came back once again. A triple by Denver sophomore Tom Connelly at the 1:23 mark made it 90-89 UNK. BSU tallied the final seven points, however, as fifth-year senior guard Mohamed Kone knocked down a triple and then made a layup with 46 seconds left. That made it 93-90 with UNK misfiring on its next possession. Kone finished the scoring by going 3 of 4 at the line. He ended with a team-high 24 points, thanks to 5 for 5 triple shooting, while also having six assists. Four other Beaver starters and a reserve reached double figures including 6-5 sophomore guard Brandon Christlieb (20) and 6-6 grad reserve RJ Smith (10). He also had a game-best 11 boards. A transfer from South Dakota Mines, Kirsch had a team-best 24 points thanks to 9 of 19 (4 of 10 threes) shooting. He also had six rebounds and four dimes. Next, Connelly hit 6 of 8 threes to score a career-best 20 with Utah super senior Darrian Nebeker working around foul trouble to have 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Finally, Binder went 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
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