Lumberjacks pull away from Thunderhawks at 218 Basketball Showcase

Feb. 12—BEMIDJI — Jayden Bondy always thought it'd be cool to play a basketball game at the Sanford Center.

The Bemidji High School boys basketball senior was part of the first group of Lumberjacks to get that opportunity. The last of three 218 Sports Showcases commenced on Thursday afternoon. It was the first of a Bemidji hoops quadrupleheader that saw each team from BHS and Bemidji State take the court on what's traditionally a hockey rink.

"It's really cool for us," Bondy said after BHS defeated Grand Rapids 64-47. "Getting to play in the Sanford Center, as a kid, you kind of dream of it. You want to play in a big stadium like this. It's kind of like fulfilling a childhood dream, almost. It's pretty cool."

218 Sports, a local nonprofit organization started by Ryan Rude aimed toward "bringing people together through sports," hosted its men's and boys hockey showcase Jan. 9-10. A week later was the women's and girls hockey showcase. On Tuesday, the Sanford Center transitioned its hockey rink to a hardwood court, setting the table for Bemidji's basketball teams to play under the bright lights.

Bemidji boys basketball was supposed to play a game against Thief River Falls at the Sanford Center in 2014, but it was canceled due to a snow day.

"It's just tremendous," BHS head coach Steve Thompson said. "218 Sports and Ryan Rude doing all the legwork in order to make this happen for the high school and college players is just tremendous. The credit goes to him for creating this opportunity for our kids."

The Lumberjacks certainly made the most of their first of two games on the big stage.

Jaxon Boschee had a game-high 19 points, followed by Austin Riewer's 17. But offense was hard to come by for both teams.

"I think you saw that today with both teams struggling to make shots, whether they were around the rim or at the 3-point line," Thompson said. "The spacing on the floor feels different. We were kind of displaced and pushed off that line. Offensively, we lacked a little continuity because of that floor spacing."

At the Sanford Center, there's more space behind the basket, which could cause a player's depth perception to be altered from playing in a high school gym.

Bondy, however, struggled with different aspects of the Sanford Center.

"The depth perception was fine for me, but the lights were tougher to see through," he said. "When I was shooting, it was like the lights were looking right at me. It was a little weird, but you have to get used to it. I think I was also shooting from the (college 3-point line) sometimes."

The Lumberjacks ended a back-and-forth first half with a slim 32-28 edge. Grand Rapids retook the lead, 38-37, on a 3-pointer from Alex Wegwerth three and a half minutes into the second half. However, Boschee made 1 of 2 free throws on his first trip to the line, and Bondy drilled a corner triple to start a 14-1 run to take a 51-39 lead.

In a span of two minutes, the Thunderhawks fouled the Jacks four times. Bemidji was in the bonus with 12 and a half minutes left in regulation. Even when shots weren't falling, BHS leaned on its defense to maintain its multi-possession lead.

"We love defense. That's our biggest thing, really," Bondy said. "We pride ourselves on how we play defensively. We want to get steals and deflections. That's when we're at our best."

With just over five minutes left, Wegwerth hit a 3 to end Grand Rapids' nine-minute drought without a made shot from the field.

"It's guys committed to working hard and playing with that high-energy level," Thompson said of the Jacks defensively. "It's not just in spurts. It's coming consistently from the start to the end of the game."

Grand Rapids (16-5) defeated Bemidji 77-62 at home on Jan. 6. The Lumberjacks' (14-6) win was a 32-point turnaround on Thursday to win their third consecutive game. BHS will be back at the Sanford Center for a 7 p.m. tip against Hermantown.

"I think there's still plenty of room for growth," Thompson said. "The areas we're getting better in are communication and playing with a sense of urgency and high energy as a collective group of players. I like where we're at right now. ... We talk about understanding your strengths and they're doing a great job of that right now. All of the guys are contributing in a number of different ways. That's what we're looking for at this time of the year."

Bemidji 64, Grand Rapids 47

GR 28 19 — 47

BHS 32 32 — 64

Bemidji — Boschee 19, Riewer 17, Bondy 8, Gish 6, Haack 6, Huseby 5, Tverstol 3.

Grand Rapids — Sutherland 13, G. Wegwerth 12, A. Wegwerth 8, Sylvester 6, Griffen 5, Morgan 3.