BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris Cougars (1-4) traveled up north to take on the Bemidji State Beavers (4-0) on Tuesday, falling 89-67 to a former conference member. It was the first game against the Beavers since the 2002-03 season; the final year in the NSIC for Minnesota Morris.
 
Neil Helgeson led the Cougars with 18 points on 7-11 shooting; he was 4-5 from beyond the arc. CD Douglas had 15 points and was the only other Cougar in double figures for the night.
 
Bemidji State was able to control the paint, outscoring the Cougars 46-26. They also took advantage of their offensive rebounds, outscoring UMM 21-2 on second chance points.
 
Morris hung with the higher division Beavers early on and the game was tied at nine through six minutes of action. Bemidji State went on a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 24-14 lead. The Cougars cut it five but could not get any closer as the Beavers went back inside to score. They would score 24 of their 45 first half points in the paint.
 
Minnesota Morris was unable to find their way back into the game and the Beavers lead stayed around 15 points for a majority of the first ten minutes in the second half. A 20-5 run for Bemidji iced the game as they went up 86-56 late in the game. Morris did finish the game on a 11-2 run in the final two minutes of play.
 
The Cougars are off until December 2 when they travel to take on Mayville State.