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MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team resumes its 2013-14 season this week with a pair of conference games on the road. The Dragons play at the University of Sioux Falls on Friday (8 p.m. tipoff) and follow with a game at Southwest Minnesota State at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Marshall, Minn.
The Dragons are 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
MSUM will meet Sioux Falls for a seventh time, with the Dragons holding a 5-1 series lead. The Dragons will meet SMSU for a 98th time with MSUM holding a 55-42 lead.
About MSUM
In their last action on Dec. 21, 2013, MSUM fell at the buzzer to Northern State, 70-69. Junior
Urbane Bingham led with the Dragons with a career-high 22 points.
Bingham leads MSUM at 11.6 points per game, while junior
Jordan Riewer is at 10.9 points per game and sophomore
Tyler Vaughan is at 10.1 points per game. Senior
Tarell Clark leads at 6.5 rebounds per game while also leading with 13 steals. Riewer leads with 38 assists.
MSUM scores an NSIC-best 86.9 points per game and is shooting 49.1 percent from the field, including 44.0 percent from three-point range. The Dragons outrebound their foes 40.4-30.5 and are allowing 64.4 points per contest.
Chad Walthall is in his fourth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 64-34 at the school.
About Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls is 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC. The Cougars have lost four in a row, including a 63-51 loss at Southwest Minnesota State on Dec. 21 in Marshall, Minn. Jordan Stotts and Cutler Finneman paced USF with nine points each.
Stotts leads a balanced Cougar offensive attack at 11.7 points per game, while Robert Goffney averages 11.6 and Charles Ward averages 11.1. Derek Brown averages 10.9 points per game. Goffney leads with 38 assists while Stotts is the team's top rebounder at 6.0 per game.
USF averages 81.2 points per game and is shooting 45.4 percent from the field. The Cougars outrebound their opponents, 34.9-34.5 and allow 79.7 points per game on defense. Teams are shooting 48.1 percent against Sioux Falls.
Chris Johnson is in his sixth season as USF's head coach with a record of 106-64 at the school.
About SMSU
The Mustangs, who face Northern State on Friday prior to facing the Dragons, are 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC. They are coming off of a 63-51 win over Sioux Falls on Dec. 21. Shaun Condon led SMSU with 14 points in the game.
Five Mustang players average in double figures: William Giddings (11.5), Nick Smith (10.9), Condon (10.8), Matt Zager (10.7) and Vinard Birch (10.0). Mitch Weg leads at 6.6 rebounds per game, while Birch leads with 50 assists. Zager has 24 steals.
As a team, SMSU scores 73.5 points per game and shoots 49.4 percent from the field. The Mustangs outrebound their opposition 34.1-28.6. SMSU allows 71.8 points per game.
Brad Bigler is in his fifth season as SMSU's head coach with a record of 71-56 at the school.
Statistical Rankings/National
MSUM ranks in the top 20 in the nation (out of 290 teams in Division II) in four areas:
--scoring margin, fourth (+22.5)
--three-point field goal percentage, fifth (44.0 percent).
--rebound margin,19th (+9.9)
--scoring defense, 20th (64.4)
Statistical Rankings/NSIC
Through nine games, MSUM leads the NSIC in the several categories:
--scoring offense (86.9)
--scoring defense (64.4)
--scoring margin (+22.5)
--3-point field goal percentage (44.0 percent)
--three-point field goals per game (9.2)
--offensive rebounds (13.60)
Balancing act
A key to MSUM's unbeaten start has been balance. Two Dragons -- Bingham (11.7) and Riewer (10.4) -- are averaging in double figures. However, a total of seven MSUM players are averaging at least seven points a game or more. Nine players have scored in double figures at least once, and seven different players have led the team in scoring through nine games. Six Dragons have recorded career-highs this season.
