Feb 09, 2007 - 09:21:47 CST
United Tribes point guard Jarvis Bearstail saved his best performance in what was probably the Thunderbirds' most important game of the season.
Bearstail played every second against crosstown rival Bismarck State on Thursday night in his home gym. The 6-foot freshman netted 33 points and handed out five assists in a 101-100 victory over the Mystics.
The game was also extra jubilant for Bearstail and the Thunderbirds as they recorded their first Mon-Dak win of the season.
"I had a better shooting night," Bearstail said. "I just play every game like it's a normal game. Some nights I'm on and some nights I'm off."
With a little more than a minute to play, United Tribes forward Lornie Pinnecoose picked up a key steal on the Thunderbirds' own end. Bearstail saw Pinnecoose anticipating and started in transition. Pinnecoose threw the ball to Bearstail, who went in for an easy, uncontested layup with 59 seconds remaining to knot the score at 99 with 59 seconds to play.
"That was a pure hustle play from Lornie," Bearstail said. "I could tell he wanted the ball so bad so I took off. I knew he would find me. He's just looking to win. He's not looking for individual goals. That's the way our whole team is."
United Tribes' Cole Glade was put on the foul line with 14 seconds remaining and netted both attempts to put the Thunderbirds up 101-99. United Tribes head coach Gerry Geistler said he was comfortable with the ball in Glade's hands.
"He's a sophomore and he's been there before," Geistler said. "He knew what he was doing."
BSC post Wes Spotted Bear initiated contact when he pulled up from the right elbow. Spotted Bear hit the second of two free-throw attempts to bring the Mystics within one with six seconds to play.
While United Tribes tried to run out the clock, BSC knocked the ball loose. BSC guard Matt Hagen recovered in the back court but couldn't get a shot off before the final horn blew.
Spotted Bear finished with an impressive performance, scoring 37 points and snagging 12 rebounds. He shot 13 of 25 from the field and 11 of 15 from the foul line. Geistler thought "overtime" when Spotted Bear went to the foul line.
"He's a nice player," Geistler said. "We tried a lot of different things on him and none of it worked."
The contest lived up to its pre-game billing. The two teams played through 28 lead changes and 18 ties. The Thunderbirds started with a 15-4 lead, highlighted by seven points from Bearstail and a 3-pointer from Pinnecoose. But BSC answered with an 8-0 run to turn it into a nail-biter.
In addition to Bearstail, four other United Tribes players scored in double figures. Pinnecoose finished with 14, Jordan Knife came off the bench to add 13 and Corey Goodiron and Glade added 12 each. The Thunderbirds improved to 1-9 in the Mon-Dak and 8-16 overall.
Spotted Bear was complemented by Dane Fisher, who finished with 33 points. Mark Lussier added 11. BSC played without starting forward Chris Leier (18 ppg), who was sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Mystics dropped to 3-6 in the Mon-Dak and 13-13 overall.
BSC (100): Chris Armstrong 0-1 0-0 0, Dane Fisher 10-26 12-12 33, Mark Lussier 4-13 2-2 11, Corey Kerzmann 2-9 4-6 9, Wes Spotted Bear 13-25 11-15 37, Shane Vettel 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Hagen 3-6 0-0 7, Eric Schmautz 0-2 1-4 1, Leonard Prince 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 33-83 30-39 100.
UT (101): Jarvis Bearstail 11-22 7-12 33, Cole Glade 3-12 3-5 12, Corey Goodiron 4-14 2-5 12, Lornie Pinnecoose 4-13 5-6 14, Matt Red Bear 2-2 0-0 6, Merrill Howling Wolf 2-3 0-0 4, Jordan Knife 6-6 1-2 13, David LaVeaux 3-4 0-0 7. Totals: 35-76 18-30 101.
Halftime score: BSC 48, UT 45.
3-pointers: BSC 4 (Fisher 1, Kerzmann 1, Lussier 1, Hagen 1), UT 13 (Bearstail 4, Glade 3, Goodiron 2, LaVeaux 1, Pinnecoose 1). Rebounds: BSC 59 (Spotted Bear 12), UT 42 (Knife 9). Assists: BSC 15 (Fisher 7), UT 22 (Bearstail 5, Glade 5). Steals: BSC 9 (Fisher 3), UT 6 (Pinnecoose 3). Turnovers: BSC 20, UT 19. Fouls: BSC 24, UT 28. Fouled out: BSC, Lussier; UT, Goodiron and Red Bear.
Records: 1-9 Mon-Dak, 8-16 overall; BSC 3-6, 13-13.
BSC 91, UT 68
Alexis Klempel and the Mystics were expecting a shredding from head coach Len Stanley at halftime as United Tribes claimed a 29-26 lead. For Stanley, some things are better left unsaid.
"We didn't think it would be pretty," said Klempel, who came off the bench to score eight points. "He just told us that during warmups we didn't seem focused. We did that on Tuesday against Trinity Bible College."
The Mystics regrouped in the second half to run away with the win. A 3-pointer from Heather Nuss from the left wing at 18:17 put the Mystics up 33-31. BSC led the rest of the way. Kasey Schlosser scored down low with 16 minutes remaining to give the Mystics their first double-digit lead. BSC led by double figures the rest of the way.
"We started getting turnovers with our press," Klempel said. "We got it going with defense."
Schlosser led BSC with 17 points. Emily Schlosser added 14 and Jacie Neys 10.
United Tribes played with just five players. The Thunderbirds played four-on-five for 14:55 of the second half. They played three-on-five in the final 15 seconds.
"It wasn't the first time we played with five players," United Tribes center Colette Hawley said. "It wore us down but we were still fighting. It took a lot for us to play the whole game by ourselves. We've played four-on-five before so I'm getting used to it."
Hawley turned in an impressive performance with 25 points and 18 rebounds. Jemma In The Woods added 19 points and Joyce Whirlwind Horse 13. Brandie Dionne finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.
"We are playing better every game" Hawley said. "We are just trying to keep it up."
The Thunderbirds recorded their first win in a year earlier this week with a victory over the Concordia (Minn.) JV. They moved to 0-10 in the Mon-Dak and 1-23 overall.
BSC improved to 5-4 in the Mon-Dak and 15-10 overall.
BSC (91): Addie Diede 3-7 1-2 8, Jacie Neys 4-17 0-0 10, Emily Schlosser 4-12 6-6 14, Heather Nuss 3-12 0-0 7, Kasey Schlosser 7-14 3-6 17, April Rau 3-6 1-4 7, Relane Kabanuck 1-5 1-2 3, Holly Wolff 1-4 0-0 3, Lynsey Nagel 0-3 2-2 2, Nicole Nakielski 3-5 1-2 8, Ivy Gilbertson 2-7 0-2 4, Alexis Klempel 4-9 0-0 8. Totals: 35-101 15-26 91,
UT (68): Fawn Packineau 2-6 0-0 4, Jemma In The Woods 9-16 0-5 19, Colette Hawley 11-29 3-10 25, Joyce Whirlwind Horse 5-16 1-2 13, Brandie Dionne 2-10 2-2 7. Totals: 29-77 6-19 68.
Halftime score: UT 29, BSC 26.
3-pointers: BSC 6 (Neys 2, Diede 1, Nakielski 1, Nuss 1), UT 4 (Whirlwind Horse 2, In The Woods 1, Dionne 1). Rebounds: BSC 60 (Nuss 9), UT 65 (Hawley 18, Dionne 11). Assists: BSC 19 (Neys 5), UT 11 (Dionne 5). Steals: BSC 15 (K. Schlosser 4), UT 8 (In The Woods 3, Whirlwind Horse 3). Turnovers: BSC 21, UT 37. Fouls: BSC 20, UT 18. Fouled out: UT, Packineau and Dionne.
Records: BSC 5-4 Mon-Dak, 15-10 overall; UT 0-10, 1-23.
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