Local sports briefs

Brainerd High School graduate Chris Bjorklund needs seven points to become the all-time leading scorer in Cal Poly men's basketball history.

The 6-foot-9 senior was limited to nine points in the Mustangs' 95-88 loss to California-Santa Barbara Saturday. His output left him with 1,897 career points, six shy of Mike Wozniak's career record.

On Feb. 8, Bjorklund scored 23 points in a 103-88 win over Long Beach State.

Cal Poly is 2-8 in the Big West Conference, 8-13 overall, before playing Thursday at Cal State-Fullerton and Saturday at California-Irvine.

Nelson scores career-high 31 in BSU win

Brainerd High School graduate Chad Nelson scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Bemidji State University men's basketball team to a 95-76 win over Northern State Friday.

Nelson, a senior point guard, was 6 of 9 from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, and sank 15 of 18 free throws. He added three rebounds and eight assists in 35 minutes as BSU improved to 6-7 in conference play, 9-12 overall.

The Beavers play Friday at Concordia-St. Paul and Saturday at Winona State.

Northern State women defeat BSU

The Northern State University women's basketball team defeated Bemidji State 82-63 Friday.

Brainerd High School graduate Sara Hemquist, a junior point guard, had six rebounds, three points, three assists and two steals in 16 minutes for Northern.

Northern plays at the University of Minnesota-Morris 5:30 p.m. Saturday.