MOORHEAD, Minn. - A strong second half of defense propelled the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon men's basketball team to a win in their 2010-11 season opener under first year Head Coach
Chad Walthall on Sunday afternoon, over Dickinson State, 81-68.
The Dragons opened the game with the first basket on the scoreboard coming from on a layup by
Dennis Williamson. The team would soon fall behind as the Blue Hawks would take a 17-10 lead at the 12:17 mark.
Tarell Clark started a scoring spurt, as he put up two points in the paint, as the Dragons came back with seven points to tie the game.
Charlie Chapman followed Clark's basket with a big three pointer and drove the lane in the Dragons next trip down the floor to tie the game up as he laid the ball of the backboard into the hoop.
The Blue Hawks took the lead again, going up by as much as four before the Dragons would crawl back to go up by one with seven minutes left in the first half. MSU Moorhead would lead by as much as eight before halftime but smart passing by the Blue Hawks cut the lead to three by the time the buzzer sounded for intermission.
"In the second half we started getting defensive stops," Walthall said. "Those stops led to our transition offense that allowed us to get open and look for opportunities to score."
MSUM went on a run early in the second half as Chapman and
Andrew VanHavermaet put up one and two three-pointers, respectively, to aid the Dragons to a 15-point lead with just over 12 minutes left to play.
The lead was increased to as much as 17, at the 7:36 mark when
Xavier Reed stole the ball and fed it to Clark who was near the Dragons' three-point line, who took a few dribbles and dunked the ball.
The Dragons went 17-for-33 from the field in the second half as they outscored the Blue Hawks, 43-32 to solidify the win on the win on their home court. Williamson scored 11 of his 15 game points in the second half, as well as picking up eight of his nine boards.
"I like that we improved each game, from our first exhibition game to our season opener," Walthall said. "We improved offensively, defensively, and in our offensive and defensive transition game."
Chapman led game with 20 points as he went 7-for-14 from the field, going 5-for-10 from the three-point line.
Alex Novak had 16 points in the game, picking up a double-double with 11 rebounds. He also had three blocks, playing 33 minutes.
Jake Driscoll had 11 points had five assist and two steals.
The Dragons open 2010-11 with a win for the 11th straight season and the second consecutive year at home. The team topped U-Mary at home to open the 2009-10 season. The 11-year streak began in 2000-01 season when MSUM hosted Concordia-Moorhead at home, topping the Cobbers 53-51.
MSUM will travel to Mayville, N.D. on Friday, Nov. 19 to face off against Mayville State at 7:30 p.m.
LISTEN IN...
All Dragon basketball games are broadcast live by the Voice of the Dragons, Steve D'Eustachio on 106.9 the Eagle. The pre-game show begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off and can also be heard live on www.theeagle.tv
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