St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Drops Double Overtime Thriller

Saturday, December 16

St. Cloud, Minn.

1:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

5-5,2-4NSIC

102

103

Bemidji State

8-4,4-2NSIC

OT 1

OT 2

Bemidji St.

103

St. Cloud St.

102

Jamiir Allen vs. BSU 12-16 | 12-16 recap

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Drops Double Overtime Thriller

12/16/2023 8:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Allen’s career-high 23 points not enough as the Huskies fall to Bemidji State 103-102 in 2OT

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (5-5 overall, 2-4 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) was not able to complete its comeback against Bemidji State, falling 103-102 in double overtime on Saturday afternoon at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud.

Bemidji State (8-4, 4-2 NSIC) got out to a blistering start, shooting 61.1% from the field (11-of-18) and 50.0% from three (6-of-12) in the first 10 minutes. The Beavers led by as many as 14 points in the first half and went on to lead 47-38 at the half.

Eleven minutes into the second half, SCSU cut the Beavers lead to one after starting the half 9-of-13 from the field (69.2%) and 5-of-8 from three (62.5%). The game would remain close, within three points, for the remainder of regulation. With 1:08 left, BSU's John Sutherland knocked down two free throws to give the Beavers a two-point lead. After both teams missed jump shots on their ensuing possessions, freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) made a driving layup out of an SCSU timeout to tie the game at 86 with 12.5 seconds left. On BSU's next possession, Sutherland was called for a travel. Senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) came up short on a game-winning three-point attempt as time expired. There were nine lead changes and five ties in the final 8:55 of regulation. The Huskies scored 48 points on 16-of-25 (64.0%) from the field, 7-of-13 (53.8%) from three and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the free throw line in the second half, forcing the game into overtime.

After winning the overtime tip, SCSU scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 90-86 lead. The Huskies would hold the lead until Bemidji State knotted the game at 92 with 1:18 left in the first overtime. Both teams missed go-ahead jumpers on the next two possessions and the Huskies were given another chance to take the lead. Willert would miss another potential game-winning three-pointer to end the first overtime period.

Bemidji State took the lead in the second overtime period and held it for the next three minutes before Willert made two free throws to tie the game at 99. The Huskies would get a steal on the next possession and freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) was fouled and sent to the free throw line. He was only able to convert on the second, giving the Huskies a one-point lead with 91 seconds left. On the Beavers next possession, Dalton Albrecht would score to give the lead back to BSU with 1:12 remaining. Sophomore Andre Renta (Hudson, Wis.) missed a go-ahead three pointer on the ensuing possession, but BSU would get called for a shot clock violation, turning the ball back over to the Huskies with 16 seconds left who trailed 101-100. Allen made a driving left-handed layup out of the SCSU timeout to give the lead back to the Huskies with five ticks left. BSU's BJ Davis missed a driving layup, but Albrecht was on the backside for the game-winning put back, giving the Beavers a last second 103-102 win.

It was the first overtime game for the Huskies since last Feb. 10, when the Huskies took down Minot State 107-105 at Halenbeck and the first double overtime game since Jan. 29, 2022, when the Huskies fell 93-86 to Southwest Minnesota State at Halenbeck.

TOP HUSKIES

Allen scored a team-high 23 points on 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from three. He also tied a game-high recording two steals.
Willert scored 16 points and grabbed three rebounds. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds in just 15 minutes. He was 4-of-7 from the field and made all three of his free throw attempts.

NOTABLES

After the loss, the Huskies are 105-49 all-time against Bemidji State.
It was the team's first overtime game this season.
The team's last overtime game was Feb. 10, 2023, against Minot State, a 107-105 victory in St. Cloud. That game was also the last time the Huskies scored over 100 points in a game.
The team's last double overtime game was Jan. 29, 2022, against Southwest Minnesota State, a 93-86 loss in St. Cloud.

SCSU led the game in field goal percentage (50.0%-47.7%), field goals (35-31), total rebounds (10-27—37 – 9-26—35), steals (9-6), blocks (2-1), points off turnovers (20-17), points in the paint (40-36), fast break points (9-5) and bench points (62-14).
Bemidji State led the game in three-point percentage (50.0%-32.4%), free-throw percentage (84.8%-77.8%), three pointers (13-11), free throws (28-21) and second chance points (16-11).
Both teams had 17 assists.
Allen set new career-highs in points (23), minutes (36), field goals made (nine), field goals attempted (14), three pointers made (three), three pointers attempted (four), assists (two – tie) and steals (two – tie). Second career time scoring in double-digits. Third career time making at least two three-pointers. Fourth career game with two assists. Fifth career game with two steals. First time playing over 30 minutes in his career.
Willert played a season-high 31 minutes and tied his season-high with 13 field goal attempts. Shot and made a season-high six free throws. Third game this season with 13 field goal attempts. First time playing over 30 minutes this season. Fifth game scoring in double figures this year (fourth straight). Has scored 15+ in four consecutive games. He now has 1,022 career points, moving up to No. 42 on the all-time scoring list.
Hawks set new career-highs in points (11), field goals made (four – tie), field goals attempted (seven), free throws made (three), free throws attempted (three – tie), assists (one – tie) and blocks (one – tie). Second career time scoring double digit points.
Renta scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. He set season-highs in points (10), minutes (27 – tie), field goals made (three), field goals attempted (eight), three pointers attempted (four), free throws made (four), free throws attempted (six), rebounds (four – tie) and blocks (one – tie). It is his first time this season scoring in double digits (sixth career).
Morgan recorded 10 points (4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three), five rebounds, four assists and two steals. He set a new career-high in assists (four). He has scored in double figures two games in a row and in five total this season. He has grabbed 5+ rebounds in nine of 10 games this season.
Graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) recorded eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. He set season highs in minutes (33) and steals (two). He has scored at least eight points in all 10 games this season. He has grabbed 7+ rebounds in three of the last four games.
Graduate student Craig Steele (Portage, Wis.) scored six points. He set season-highs in points (six), minutes (21), field goals made (two – tie), field goals attempted (five), three pointers made (two), three pointers made (five) and assists (one). It is his first-time playing 20+ minutes this season and second time playing double digit minutes. He recorded his first assist of the season and his first game making 2+ three pointers.
Senior Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) tallied seven points, two assists and two steals in 15 minutes.
Redshirt sophomore Tony Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) scored six points on a perfect 2-of-2 from the field and 1-of-1 from three. He recorded his first steal of the season.
Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemont, Minn.) finished with five points, four assists and three rebounds. He tied his career-high in assists (four). He has four assists in back-to-back games and three total this season.

UP NEXT
The Huskies hit the road to face former-NSIC foe, Upper Iowa, in their last game of 2023 on Tuesday Dec. 19. Tipoff is set for noon CT at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa. Live coverage will be available on the GLVC Network (note – there is a $10 single-game pass you will need to purchase). Live stats will be provided by UIU. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Men's Basketball schedule page.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.