Beavers narrowly defeat Minnesota-Duluth 63-60

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Jan. 28, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

The Beavers men's basketball team played 40 minutes of gutsy, defensive basketball versus Minnesota-Duluth Wednesday night.

But it was the last 40 seconds of the game during which the Beavers (9-10, 3-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) took their game to another level, capping a 63-60 win over the Bulldogs (8-12, 2-4 NSIC).

Beavers center Ben Caron started the defensive run with a blocked shot on Bulldog big man, Josh Quigley, with about 40 seconds left, returning the ball to BSU.

The fortuitous block gave the Beavers the opportunity to stall for about 25 seconds on their possession. Then Joey Riccio started driving from six feet past the corner of the three-point arc, sweeping past two Bulldogs and finger-rolling in the game's clinching bucket from the paint.

With still 10 seconds left, UMD drove the court again amidst heavy Beaver pressure only to have Keven Braiedy dribble the ball off his foot and out of bounds.

Then UMD managed a desperation three at the buzzer but it caromed off the front lip of the bucket.

Game, set, match. Beavers win.

"We hung in there, and the kids gave a real good effort," BSU coach Dave Gunther said.

The Beavers' front court -- Caron, Mac Smith and B.J. LaVelle -- stepped up their game in a very physical contest, leading BSU to the win.

Caron and Smith made it especially difficult for UMD's Quigley to establish their inside game, and on the offensive end both were among five Beavers scoring in double digits.

In addition to their offensive exploits, BSU's big men drew numerous Bulldog fouls in the second half, handcuffing UMD even further.

"The (inside game) really worked, not necessarily because we scored with it," Gunther added, "but because we created foul trouble for them and put us on the line in shooting situations."

Joining Smith and Caron in double digits were Riccio (10), Carlos Barnes (13) and LaVelle (13).