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RECORDS FALL, AS BULLDOGS OUTLAST BEAVERS 126-124 IN QUADRUPLE OVERTIME THRILLER

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Coming into Wednesday evening's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball clash between the University of Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State University, many people were assuming it was going to be a battle.

But that night, no one could have assumed what happened between the Bulldogs and Beavers.

As a handful of NSIC all-time records were broken, UMD used their stamina and determination to edge out the Bemidji State 126-124 in an eye-popping quadruple overtime conference thriller before a crowd of 811 stunned fans at the BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minn.

The Bulldogs set a pair of NSIC all-time records on the evening, as their 126 points, as well as their 33 team assists are marked as the most ever in a single game, while the 250 combined points scored in the contest by both the conference rivals holds the top spot in the NSIC single game record books.

UMD also broke a number of school records, as their 93 attempted field goals broke the previous mark of 88 set back in 1980 against Southwest Minnesota State, while the Beavers 124 total points were the most ever scored on the Bulldogs, breaking the previous mark of 114 set back in 1969 against Bradley University.

The highly anticipated affair started off quickly in favor of the Beavers (8-18 overall; 6-13 NSIC), as just over three minutes into the game, it was the home team who was leading 10-2. Over the next few minutes, UMD (19-10; 13-6) cut Bemidji State's lead down to three on three separate occasions; however, a 16-2 Beaver run over roughly a five minute span gave Bemidji State their largest lead of the half, as they led 31-14 about halfway through the frame.

But over the next four minutes, it was the Bulldogs who ran out on an 11-0 run of their own, cutting the Beaver advantage to six and as the teams exchanged buckets with each other throughout the rest of the half, UMD found themselves trailing 39-37 when the buzzer rang at halftime.

After the break, the Bulldogs came out hot, as they nailed three of their first five shots from the floor and cut Bemidji State's lead down to just a single point, but yet again, another run by the Beavers - this time an 18-10 streak - gave Bemidji State a 62-53 lead roughly halfway through the second half.

It was just 30 seconds later, that the Bulldog freshman point guard Ryan Rasmussen drained a jumper to spark their 21-11 run and allowed them to grab their first lead of the night, as the scoreboard read 74-73 in favor of UMD.

The Bulldogs lead lasted just nine seconds, as the Beavers sank a 3-pointer to reclaim a 76-74 lead and with the game tied a 78-78, a Bemidji State long-range bomb gave the Beavers what looked like to be the game-winner, as they led 81-78 with just eight seconds left on the clock.

But it was after UMD head coach Gary Holquist took a timeout to set up their final play, that Bulldog senior guard Steve Klass netted a bomb from the corner to send the exciting back-and-forth match-up to overtime.

In the extra frame, both squads slugged it out with each other and with just two seconds remaining, the Beavers - who led by one point - sent Rasmussen to the charity stripe for a chance to put the game away, but he missed the back-end of his two shots and the game headed off to double overtime.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an impressive four-point advantage in the second overtime, as they led 100-96 at one time, but a Bemidji State lay-up with 23 seconds left tied the score at 105-105 eventually sending the affair to the third extra frame.

Triple overtime saw both teams go up-and-down the floor exchanging baskets with each other, but it was Bemidji State who knocked down a pair of clutch free-throws to knot the game at 115-115 with just 13 seconds on the clock and later send the contest in a fourth extra session.

In quadruple overtime, UMD pushed their lead 120-117 with less than three minutes left, but a 7-0 Beaver run over the next minute guided Bemidji State to a 124-120 advantage. It was the Bulldogs junior forward Brian Sykora who nailed a pair of free-throws to tie the game at 124-124 with just 48 seconds left and after a Beaver turnover, UMD had 27 seconds left to win the game.

They did just that, as with four seconds remaining on the clock, Bulldog senior center John Vaudreuil hit a jumper in the lane to secure a hard-fought victory in the roughly 3-hour marathon contest.

Sykora led the way for UMD, as he racked up a jaw-dropping double-double consisting of a game-leading 37 points, as well as a game-high 20 rebounds, while the captain knocked down 16 of his game-leading 27 shots (59 percent) from the field and handed off four assists in his game-high 56 minutes on the floor for the Bulldogs.

His partner down low, Vaudreuil, also had a stellar performace on the blocks, as the captain poured in 33 points and snagged 14 rebounds in collecting the only other double-double of the game. UMD's leading scorer on year also nailed 79 percent (11-for-14) of his attempts from the charity stripe, netted an impressive 69 percent (11-for-16) of his shots from the floor, dished off six assists and blocked two shots in his game-leading 56 minutes of action.

Klass also piled up 27 points for the Maroon and Gold as he nailed a game-high six of his 12 (50 percent) attempts from downtown - all of UMD's 3-pointers - while Rasmussen tallied 15 points to go with his six helpers and junior guard Ron White nearly had a triple-double as he dispatched 11 rebounds, a game-leading nine assists and eight points in the historic win.

After the final buzzer, UMD drained an eye-popping 50 percent (46-for-93) of their shots from the floor, while they hit an impressive 78 percent (28-for-36) of their attempts from the charity stripe and buried six of their 22 heaves (27 percent) from behind the arc. The Bulldogs also killed the Beavers on the glass 57-43, while their NSIC-record 33 assists was eight more than Bemidji State's 25 on the evening.

After the thrilling victory, UMD - who has won fourth straight games - now looks ahead to their final regular season game of the year, when the welcome NSIC foe Augustana College (S.D.) (19-7; 13-6) to Romano Gymnasium this upcoming Saturday evening (Feb. 28) on Senior Day at 5 o'clock.

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