MARSHALL, Minn. – Dragon guard
Charlie Chapman's 23 point performance pushed the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team to a 20 point win over Southwest Minnesota State University Tuesday night in Marshall, Minn.
After a 2-2 tie in the early part of the game, the Dragons produced a 10-0 run in just under two minutes which was capped off by junior
Charlie Chapman hitting back-to-back three-pointers to put the Dragons up 12-2 with 16:19 left in the first half.
Chapman would continue to connect in the first half, going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc and would finish the game with a career high 23 points after shooting a season high 87.5 percent (7-8) from three. Chapman's seven threes ranks him tied for fifth all-time among Dragon shooters, behind names like Kevin Aronson (9, 8, 7, 7), Nate Wood (8) and current teammate
Andrew VanHavermaet (8).
The Dragons grew their lead to 16 points, but Jordan Miller would hit a three-pointer at the 9:35 mark to cap a 6-0 run and bring the Mustangs within nine points, 25-16.
The Dragons would respond with a run of their own, scoring 11 straight points to take a 20 point lead with 5:27 left in the half.
Miller would again fuel a Mustang surge, posting eight of their last 12 points of the half and cutting the Dragon lead down to 11 with :38 till halftime.
DJ Hamilton would respond by hitting a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to raise the Dragon lead to 14, 46-32.
Chapman would continue to score in bunches in the second half, including seven consecutive points at the 8:23 mark to push the Dragon lead to 26, their largest lead of the game, 75-49.
The Dragons would hold on to a 20 point lead to post a final score 84-64, earning the team their fourth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference win.
Chapman's efforts helped the Dragons reach a season high 61.9 percent from beyond the arc with the assistance of teammates Hamilton,
Jake Driscoll and VanHavermaet. The 13-17 performance fell only three makes short of the Dragon single game team record of 16 three-pointers that was posted in 2007 against Presentation College (S.D.).
Offensive stats aside, Dragon assistant coach Eric Peterson also credited a solid defensive performance for the victory.
“The guys came to play on both sides of the floor, but I was very proud of their defensive efforts,” Peterson said.
The win moves the Dragons into a three-way tie for fourth in the NSIC with Concordia, St. Paul and St. Cloud State University.
The Dragons will return home on Saturday, Jan. 8 against the University of Mary (N.D.), and Sunday, Jan. 9 against the Wolves from Northern State University (S.D.). Both games are set to tip-off at 4 p.m.
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