Men’s basketball split two game
Written by Cavin Berube Tuesday, 24 November 2009 08:00
The Bison men were finally able to play at home this past Wednesday, and they made the most of it. The men were playing at the Bison Sports Arena against the Minot State Beavers. The Beavers came into the game with a 5-1 record, and as a Division II team were looking to knock off one of the big boys.
The beginning of the game proved to be quite troublesome for the Bison. The Beavers came out and played tremendous pressure defense, which attributed to ten Bison turnovers in the first half. Even with double-digit turnovers, the men were able to take a 13-point lead into the locker room.
The second half started out quickly for the Bison, as they were able to take a 22-point lead over the Beavers just six minutes into the second half. The Bison never looked back and got their first win of the season, 110-82.
On the defensive end, the men were able to hold the Beavers to fewer than 40 percent shooting. Junior Michael Tveidt, who was one of six Bison in double digits, led the Herd with 23 points on a 10-14 shooting night from the floor.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bison took on the Vandals from Idaho University. The Vandals were coming off of a tough road loss to Texas Southern after beating the Utah Utes in their season opener.
After shooting 56 percent on Wednesday night, the men shot a mere 33 percent on Saturday.
“We settled for way too many jumpers,” head coach Saul Phillips said. “We have to be less reliant on the jumper.”
The Vandals also were able to capitalize on a poor defensive effort by the Bison. They connected on 57 percent of their shots while outrebounding the Bison 41-38. It seemed as though Idaho was able to get almost any shot they wanted, also connecting on 46 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. The lack of an inside game was obvious throughout, and the Bison took a tough loss 81-69.
There were a few bright spots in the game though.
“We had a great night on the offensive boards,” Phillips said. “And we were able to limit our turnovers.” The men had only eight turnovers compared to 21 on Wednesday night.
After his first career double-double on Wednesday, the men were lead by sophomore Eric Carlson. Carlson put up 17 points for the Bison, and Josh Vaughan and Michael Tveidt also put in double digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bison hit the road this week with a game tonight at UC Davis, before returning home for a game on Nov. 27 against the Phoenix from the University-Wisconsin Green Bay.
