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.
Dec. 10, 1998
By Devlyn Brooks
The BSU men's basketball team used a deadly combination of perimeter shooting and inside domination to post a 95-82 win over Minnesota-Crookston Wednesday at BSU Gymnasium.
The contest represented the Beavers' home opener as an earlier date was cancelled by inclement weather.
Bemidji's Seth Greenwaldt foreshadowed the evening well when 20 seconds into the game, he nailed a three-pointer from the corner of the arc.
BSU shot 5-of-9 from three-point land in the first half, a big factor in their 14-point lead, and finished with 9-of-15 shooting overall.
Following the early trey, forward Mac Smith established himself in the paint, converting two layups and a free throw to give BSU an 8-3 lead.
The Beavers dropped below that five-point lead for only two brief periods the rest of the game, coasting on a double-digit lead for more than three-fourths of the contest.
"The shots were there (in the first half)," BSU coach Dave Gunther said, "and we were getting the ball inside which opened up the outside."
UMC coach Gary Senske agreed, saying the BSU big men performed well.
"BSU has a nice inside game," he added. "They have some big kids that handle the ball nicely."
After the half, the Beavers went immediately to the inside game again, feeding center Ben Caron four straight times for eight points.
He outscored the Golden Eagles by himself for the first four and a half minutes of the second half. He had 13 total in the second half to give him 15 on the night.
BSU steadily began to pull away, amassing their biggest lead, 20 points, with about a minute and a half left.
Although the Beavers played well, they were never able to put the Golden Eagles on ice -- having to stave off a couple of surges late in the game.
Basically, they maintained a threatening lead, but were not dominating, Gunther said.
"A couple of times we had (opportunities) to close the gap up," Senske said, "but we'd miss a free throw or a layup. Or we'd have a turnover."
The victory upped the Beavers' record to 4-4 overall, a nice reversal of an early 1-3 record.
The Golden Eagles fell to 0-7 on the year, as BSU's Gunther improved to 8-0 versus UMC during his reign at Bemidji.
Greenwaldt's 21 points led the team, as four other individuals finished in double-digits as well.
Mac Smith had 16 and led with 11 rebounds. Caron had 15 points, and the others were Larry Smith (13) and Joey Riccio (12).
Scoring sensation Tom Andrades had 31 for the Golden Eagles, and Jamie Dittfach added 20.
The Beavers travel to the North Dakota State tournament this weekend, facing the host school Friday at 8 p.m.
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