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. 23, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
The Southwest State men's basketball team shot 18-of-25 from three-point land to smoke Bemidji State 93-68 Saturday in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game at BSU Gymnasium.
The Mustangs (11-6, 6-3 NSIC), who got treys from five players, tied a school record for three-pointers made, set a record for three-pointers attempted and shot a perfect 11-for-11 from three-point land in the second half.
"We've been hitting the three-pointer all year. This is about the third time we've lit it up from there," Mustangs coach Tim Miles said. "When we're in a rhythm, we're a pretty good basketball team."
The Beavers (6-11, 4-5 NSIC) were outmanned from the beginning tipoff, with the Mustangs taking a 10-0 lead off three buckets by brothers Scott and Chad Koenen. When BSU finally did score in the first half -- more than five minutes into the game -- it was too little, too late. SSU had already taken control of the game and set the tone for the night.
"We have a game goal to win the first five minutes of each game," Miles said. "And we did."
The Mustangs finished the half leading 38-28, and didn't waste time icing it in the second half. Within three minutes, they had pushed their lead to 44-31 and led by 30 at 68-38 with 10 minutes left in the game. BSU never challenged the Mustangs in the second half.
Miles said he felt he had good matchups by playing 6-foot-5 Josh Preusse and 6-foot-10 Koenen on Beavers Larry and Mac Smith, respectively. The coach said Preusse's height and Koenen's strength limited BSU's two big threats.
"I think we caught Bemidji on a let-down night after their big win over Wayne (State) Friday," Miles said. "And we had a tough loss to (Minnesota-Duluth), so our kids were hungry."
Beaver coach Dave Gunther -- who hasn't beaten Southwest State in his BSU career -- wasn't so kind.
"We didn't guard very well. We just didn't do a very good job," he said. "There's no explanation for it. We just didn't do a good job."
SSU's Scott Koenen finished with a game high of 30 points, with 6-of-8 shooting from behind the three point line. This was his second straight 30-point game.
BSU's Mac Smith netted a hard-fought 22 points to lead the Beavers, followed by Matt Sporcic and Colby Bragg with 10 each.
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