Monday, March 04, 2013

ROCHESTER, Minn. – After a 74-72 upset victory of No. 21 Winona State University Saturday, the Bemidji State University men's basketball team will return to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals in Rochester, Minn. March 8 to battle Upper Iowa University Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Taylor Arena.

The winner of the BSU and UIU semifinal game will face the winner of the Augustana College and Minnesota State University, Mankato semifinal, played Friday at 7:30 p.m. The two winners will advance to the finals March 9 at 5:30 p.m. with a shot at an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  

Tickets are available at the Rochester Civic Center ticket office. Ticket prices for the semifinals and finals are as follows: Adults: $15, Seniors: $10, Students: $5 and Children under five are free. Click HERE for directions to the arena.

A block of rooms has been reserved for March 6-10 at the Hilton Garden Inn Rochester Downtown (225 South Broadway, Rochester, MN 55904). To secure the special room rate of $95 (available until March 6 or until the block is sold out), mention NSIC Postseason Basketball Tournament. To book a room, call (507) 285-1234 or visit the website HERE.

A pregame social has been set-up for Beaver fans Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Dooley’s Pub (255 1st Ave., Rochester, MN 55902).

Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can follow in a variety of ways. Beaver Radio Network will be broadcast the Bemidji State semifinal and potential final locally on 92.1 FM The River or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com with the play-by-play call from Mark Ricci. The games can be viewed online for free at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/bsu.portal#. Live stats will be provided by the NSIC at http://sidearmstats.com/nsic/bball/scoreboard.aspx.

Hotel, ticket and multimedia information can also be found at the NSIC Tournament website.

The Beavers are 17-11 overall, riding a five-game wining streak and have won eight of their last 10 heading to Rochester. Bemidji State defeated Wayne State College in the first round of the tournament March 2 by the score of 71-54.

Last season, BSU defeated Wayne State College 57-53 in the first round of the tournament to move on to the semifinals where it lost to Minnesota State University Moorhead 73-64.

Upper Iowa finished as the No. 4 seed in the NSIC South after a 14-8 league record. UIU hosted NSIC North No. 5 seed Minot State University March 2 and defeated the Beavers 86-72 to advance to the quarterfinals at NSIC North No. 1 seed St. Cloud State University Saturday. The Peacocks defeated the Huskies 73-55 to make the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since moving to Division II before the 2006-07 season. Upper Iowa owns a 20-10 overall record, a Division II record for the Peacocks.

Earlier this season the Beavers fell to Upper Iowa 81-67 in Fayette, Iowa to snap a three-game winning streak against Peacocks. Since that loss, Bemidji State is 9-3, while Upper Iowa holds a 7-5 record in its last 12 games. BSU is 8-5 all-time against UIU and 3-2 in the last five meetings. The teams have met once on a neutral court at the NSIC Holiday Hoops Fest in 2008. UIU won the game 84-68. 

For more information on the Bemidji State men’s basketball program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUHoops or @BSUBeavers), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/Bemidji-State-Basketball or facebook.com/BSUBeavers) or sign up for the TXTUpdates from BSUBeavers.com text-messaging system through the "Mulitmedia" pull down menu on the main page of BSUBeavers.com.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--bsu--