Box Score
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Three Minnesota State University Moorhead players scored in double figures as the Dragon men rolled to an 88-58 win over Minnesota-Morris in non conference basketball Friday night in Moorhead, Minn.
The Dragons improved to 3-0 on the year with the win, while UMM fell to 0-2.
Junior
Taylor Filipek had 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Dragons, while senior
Anthony Tucker had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Senior
Alex Novak had 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks for MSUM. Freshman
Ben Figini added eight points off the bench for MSUM.
The Dragons shot 56.5 percent (39-of-69) from the field while holding UMM to 31 percent (18-of-58). MSUM had a commanding 48-27 edge in rebounds, led by senior
Eric Olson with eight.
A fast start set the tone for MSUM as the Dragons opened the game on a 14-2 run. Filipek, Novak and freshman
Tyler Vaughan had four points each during that opening spurt.
The Cougars were within 25-16, but the Dragons answered with a 9-0 run -- with Tucker accounting for seven of the points to stretch the lead to 34-16 with 6:03 left in the half.
UMM had closed within 42-25 before the Dragons scored five straight points -- four coming from Figini -- to push the lead to 46-25. The Dragons took a 47-27 lead into halftime, with Tucker accounting for 15 points and Novak eight.
The Dragons shot a blistering 21-of-33 (63.6 percent) from the field in the first half, compared to 28 percent (7-of-25) for the Cougars.
MSUM put the game out of the reach with eight straight points to start the second half to push the lead to 55-29, thanks to four points from Novak and two apiece from Tucker and Filipek. The Dragons led by as many as 30 in the second half.
The Dragons had a commanding 60-18 edge in points in the paint, and a 24-10 in second-chance points.
Sophomore
Jordan Riewer and Vaughan had seven points each for MSUM, while freshman
Brady Wohler had six points and four rebounds off the bench.
MSUM is back in action Tuesday at Concordia-Moorhead. Game time is 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall on the Concordia campus.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The last time the University of Minnesota Morris defeated MSU Moorhead was January 31, 1998 making tonight's win, the 12th in a row for the Dragons over the Cougars. During this stretch, one of the largest comeback victories in MSUM history occurred against UMM on January 3, 2000 in Morris. MSU Moorhead trailed the Cougars by 20 in the second half, before roaring back to win 73-72, on a Jimmy Coston buzzer-beating three-pointer.
