UMD’s Bowen Knowledge of Opponent Not Enough to get Victory

Saturday night was more than just a basketball game. UMD Head Men’s basketball Coach Matt Bowen has only been on the job for 7 regular season games, 8 if you can count an exhibition game with UWS. But he had to coach against a team that he knows just about everything.  From what they like to eat, and who is in their family. 

Bowen coached at Bemidji State for 6 years and had to somehow try and use that knowledge for a possible UMD victory.

In the end, his old team, beat his new team.  Bemidji State won 66-55.

“It was awkward, it was awkward,” said, Matt Bowen on Monday, following the game.

UMD and Bemidji State will play again in February and those same feelings he has are expected to return, but this time he wants a win on the Bemidji State home court.

Bowen added, “Those are guys I recruited I think the coach there is doing a good job there.  Those guys are organized, playing very hard.  We had a tie game at the half, and they just played better than we did in the 2^nd half.  Hopefully they taught us some lessons that we can use when we go back up there in February and play a little bit better.  It was certainly an experience I don’t want to go through again many times, but it was something that will be much easier when those guys are gone.”

UMD will be back on the road this weekend at Minnesota State-Moorhead  and Northern State in NSIC Conference action.

Bowen, while a rookie coach with UMD, is a veteran, this being his 7^th season in the league.  He knows the upcoming teams this weekend, “Very familiar with the Moorhead team, very familiar with the Northern State team, and know all of the coaches.  From the restaraunts, to the hotels on the road, to where you need to be, the gym the atmosphere, and for the most part, the opposing players we certainly know their tendancey’s and what they like to do,. I guess the difference is how they adjust to our team.”

The Bulldogs are 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC. UMD beat MN-Crookston on Friday night at home 66-61.

Jake Hottenstine is the UMD Sr. captain, and one of three seniors on the team.  He was 2^nd on the team in scoring last year, with a 16.pp game.

The Bulldogs were 14-13 overall last year, and 11-11 in the NSIC under than Head Coach Gary Holquist, who is still with the school in a fundraising role.

The date is February 22^nd, the rematch Old vs New in Bemidji.