MOORHEAD, Minn. – After the first half of the season, the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon basketball teams return to the road to face the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Friday, Jan. 14 and the #21 Winona State Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 15.

Both Dragon squads are sitting at 8-5 overall, 5-4 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and 3-2 on the road in conference play.  Games at Fayette, Iowa, begin at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and games at Winona, Minn., begin at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Dragons v. Upper Iowa Peacocks
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Dragons v. Winona State Warriors
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LISTEN IN, WATCH LIVE...
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

DRAGON WOMEN
The Dragon women are coming off a split weekend at home, defeating the University of Mary 71-63 and losing 46-60 to Northern State. The Dragons last road trip resulted in two losses to MSU-Mankato (57-71) and Southwest Minnesota State (59-68).  
 
Junior Angie Jetvig remains the leading scorer in the NSIC with 17.8 points per game, but was outscored by her teammates in both games last weekend.  Marisa Yernatich posted 18 points in the victory over the Marauders and Haley Thomforde added 11 points against the Wolves.

The Dragon women lead the NSIC in defensive rebounding and are ranked second in offensive rebounding.  Their combined rebounding stats rank the Dragons first in rebounding margin, averaging 11.8 rebounds per game more than their opponents.

DRAGON MEN
The Dragon men are coming off a narrow 72-71 victory over Northern State on Saturday and a 57-72 loss to the University of Mary on Friday.  The Dragons have lost their last three weekend openers, but returned to win the next night.

The Dragons have four players averaging double digits this season and are lead by Tarell Clark with 12.8 points per game.  Jake Driscoll (12.5 ppg) and Charlie Chapman (12.1 ppg) are just behind Clark and Dennis Williamson leads the Dragon posts in scoring with 10.8 points per game.

Sophomore Alex Novak is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.8 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game.  Novak also leads the Dragons in blocked shots with 26 this season, bringing his career total to 95 blocks in only 40 games.  Novak is only two blocks away from ranking second all-time in the Dragon record book for career blocked shots halfway through his sophomore year.  Holding at second all-time for career blocked shots is a tie between Kyle Nelson (97 blocks in 77 games) and Mark Andrews (97 blocks in 81 games).  The career blocked shots leader for MSU Moorhead is Mike Bednarek who tallied 112 blocks in 73 games from 1981-86.

UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY PEACOCKS
The Peacock women are currently 1-12 overall and 1-8 in NSIC play.  Their only win was at Fayette, Iowa on Dec. 18, 2010 against Southwest Minnesota State, 53-49.  The last two contests for the Peacocks were road losses at St. Cloud State, 59-100, and Concordia University, St. Paul, 54-77.

The Peacocks are led in scoring by Cassandra Deiters with 10.5 points per game and Lana Otting with 10.3 points per game.  Otting is shooting 41.9 percent from the three-point line and also leads the team in steals with 11.

Deiters is a 6'3” senior center who is shooting 61.1 percent from the floor and leads the team in blocks with 17 and free-throw shooting with 90.9 percent.

The Peacock men are currently 4-9 overall and 3-5 in NSIC action with losses in their last three games against U-Mary, 56-65, St. Cloud State, 68-76 and Concordia, St. Paul, 73-82.

Leading the Peacock men in scoring is Matt Lesan with 13.1 points per game, Dan Bestul with 11.9 points per game and Tucker Wentzien with 11.3 points per game.  Lesan, Bestul, Wentzien and Jake Hughes have all posted over 20 points in games this season.  Bestul leads the team from beyond the arc, averaging 52.3 percent.

The Series
The Dragons women are undefeated against the Peacocks (9-0) and won the last contest by 24 points, 91-67, on Jan. 23, 2010, in Fayette, Iowa.  The previous contest between these two teams on Jan. 24, 2009 was a 90-81 victory for the Dragons.

The Dragon men are 6-4 all-time against the Peacocks including a 72-93 loss in Nemzek Fieldhouse on Jan. 23, 2010.

WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY WARRIORS
The Winona State women are 11-2 overall and 7-2 in NSIC play.  Their only two losses came at Minnesota Duluth 56-63 on Dec. 11, 2010, and at Concordia, St. Paul, 51-73, on Saturday Jan. 8.

The Warriors followed the 22 point loss to the Golden Bears on Friday with a 57-52 victory over St. Could State on Sunday. 

Leading the Warriors in scoring is Michelle McDonald (16.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg), Katie Wolff (12.9 ppg, 3.8 assists per game) and Natalie Gigler (12.2 ppg).

The #21 Winona State men are also 11-2 overall and 7-2 in NSIC action.  Last weekend, the Warriors defeated Concordia, St. Paul, 85-62, and pulled out a 93-91 overtime victory at St. Cloud State.

Leading the Warrior men in scoring is Anthony Tucker with 17.5 points per game and Clayton Vette with 13.5 points per game.  Vette also has the highest rebounding average for the Warriors with 6.6 rebounds per game.  Ben Fisher leads the team with 5.1 assists per game.

The Series
The Dragon women lead the series against the Warriors, 41-24, but lost in their last meeting, 65-68, on Jan. 22, 2010.

On the men's side, the Dragons trail the Warriors, 69-77.  In their last meeting, the Warriors won on Jan. 22, 2010, 45-63.

NEXT HOME GAME IS ALUMNI NIGHT
The next home game for the Dragons on Friday, Jan. 21 is Alumni Night.  Any Alumni wearing a red shirt to the game will receive a $1 ticket.  The Dragons students plan to wear white for the games making it a “Red and White Night” for the fans.  The women's game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off and the men begin at 8 p.m.

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