WHAT'S AHEAD
MOORHEAD, Minn. --After a nearly two week break from action, the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (14-1, 5-1 NSIC) will return to the court this weekend for two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match ups. The Dragons will host Upper Iowa on Friday night at 8 p.m. and Winona State on Saturday at 6 p.m.
After defeating rival Northern State 106-86 on Dec. 20 and Jamestown 88-71 on Saturday night, the Dragons moved up five spots to No. 14 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll. MSUM was ranked No. 19 in the previous poll.
The games will be televised live on WDAY'Z Xtra, which is cable channel 596 on Midcontinent Communications cable, channel 29 on Cable One and 6.3 over the air. Steve d'Eustachio and Scott Swanson will have the call. Live stats, live online video stream, and audio can be found at msumdragons.com.
To begin, the Dragons will take on Upper Iowa at 8 p.m. Friday following the completion of the women's game. This will be the 16th match up in the all-time series between the two schools, with MSUM holding a slight edge at 8-7. The Peacocks have won seven of the last 10 match ups, including three of the last four. Last year, Upper Iowa defeated MSUM in overtime 109-107 in the regular season contest on Jan. 31, 2014, before the Dragons avenged the loss with a 79-68 win on Mar. 1, 2014 in the NSIC tournament. Five Dragons' scored in double figures in the NSIC tournament win, led by then-juniors Prescott Williams and Urbane Bingham, who each had 13 points.
This season, Upper Iowa is currently 8-4 and 4-2 in the NSIC. The Peacocks have split the last two weeks of action, going 2-2 after defeating Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State while losing to Minnesota State Mankato and Wisconsin-Parkside. Senior guard Bo Pagel leads the Peacocks in scoring with 13.1 points per game.
Next, on Saturday, MSUM hosts Winona State at 6 p.m. The Warriors lead the all-time series over the Dragons 77-69.Winona State has won six of the last ten matchups. Last season, the two schools split the their two match ups, with MSUM taking the regular season matchup 82-80 on Feb. 1, 2014 in Moorhead, MN while Winona State grabbed a 70-53 win in the semi-finals of the NSIC tournament on Mar, 3, 2014. Then-sophomore guard Tyler Vaughan and then-freshman guard Aaron Lien each scored 18 points to lead the Dragons in the Feb. 1 game.
This season, the Warriors are currently 5-5 and 2-4 in the NSIC. Winona State has lost four of their last five games dating back to Dec. 5, with their only victory coming over Concordia-St. Paul 75-56 on Dec. 12. Last time out, Winona State dropped a game at its travel partner Upper Iowa 90-76 on Dec. 20. Sophomore guard Riley Bambenek leads the Warriors in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
MSUM improved its record to 14-1 overall and 5-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference after two wins over Northern State and Jamestown on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, respectively. After improving to 5-1, the Dragons are now tied at the top of the conference with Augustana, also 5-1 in conference play.
Led by two career-high tying scoring performances from senior guard Jordan Riewer and junior guard Ngijol Songolo, the Dragons defeated Northern State 106-86 on Dec. 20. Three players scored at least 19 points for the Dragons, who reached 100 points for the second time this season. Riewer posted 26 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Songolo added 19 points and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Aaron Lien contributed 19 points while senior forward Urbane Bingham added 10 points. The Dragons utilized two 9-0 runs in the first half to take a 43-28 lead at halftime. The Wolves never cut the lead to fewer than 11 in the second half.
The Dragons again used a quick early run in the first half to grab momentum against Jamestown on Dec. 21. MSUM went on a 12-0 to grab a 19-8 lead ten minutes into the game and eventually went on to defeat Jamestown 88-71. MSUM shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field and 39.4 percent (13-33) from the three-point line and dished out 17 assists while committing only six turnovers in the victory. Riewer scored 20 points, the sixth time this season he has scored at least 20 points in a game, while adding seven assists. Lien added 11 points and led the team with six rebounds.
RIEWER TAKES HOME PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•For the second time this season, senior guard Jordan Riewer was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division Player of the Week on Dec. 22. Riewer was also named player of the week on Nov. 24 after being named the MVP of the Alaska Invitational.
•Riewer led the Dragons in scoring in both of MSUM's wins over Northern State and Jamestown, averaging 23 points, five rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. The Staples, Minn. native shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from the three-point line, and 91.3 percent (21-of-23) from the free throw line in the two games.
•The Dragon point guard had 26 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the 106-86 win over Northern State on Dec. 20. Riewer also shot 13-of-14 from the free throw line while tying a career high with 26 points. The 6-2 guard scored 20 points, had four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal while going 8-of-9 from the free throw line in the 88-71 win over Jamestown on Dec. 21. Riewer compiled 13 assists in the two games while only committing one turnover.
RUN DRAGONS RUN
•The Dragons utilized runs in both of their match ups against Northern State and Jamestown to grab control of the game and maintain momentum for the rest of the game.
•Against Northern State, the score was tied at 12 six and a half minutes into the first half. Senior guard Jordan Riewer hit a three-pointer with at the 12:52 mark to start a 9-2 run. Senior guard Prescott Williams scored the last four points of the run for the Dragons. Late in the half, MSUM went on another run, this time outscoring the Wolves 9-0 between the 4:15 and 1:17 mark of the half to give the Dragons a 43-28 lead. Riewer had two points and two assists to spark the run. Northern State closed MSUM's lead to 11 on three separate occasions in the second half, but could never get closer as the Dragons cruised to a 106-86 victory.
•Against Jamestown, the Jimmies led 8-7 five minutes into the first half before MSUM responded with a 12-0 run to grab an 11 point lead at 19-8 with 11:30 left in the half. The run started with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Aaron Lien, followed by four consecutive made free throws from senior forward Urbane Bingham, then a layup by junior guard Tyler Vaughan, and a three-pointer from junior guard Ngijol Songolo. The Jimmies cut the lead to 10 in the second half, but never got closer as the Dragons won 88-71.
RIEWER NEARS MILESTONES
•Senior guard Jordan Riewer is nearing two milestones that will leave a lasting legacy in Dragon history. The Dragon point guard is five points away from having 1,000 points in his career and is 12 assists away from holding the all-time record for assists in MSUM basketball history. Currently, Riewer has 995 points and 328 assists in his career.
•Riewer would be the 27th player in Dragon history to reach the 1,000-point club and the first since Alex Novak entered the exclusive club in 2013 with 1,219 points.
•The 6-2 guard would pass Ralph Western's mark of 339 assists with 12 more this season. Western posted the record in 116 games between 1988 and 1992.
•The Staples, Minn. native leads MSUM in points per game (16.4), assists per game (5.3), and free throw percentage (.925). Riewer is ranked seventg in scoring in the NSIC (16.4), second in assists per game (5.3), third in three-pointers per game (2.7), sixth in three-point field percentage (.506), and second in free throw percentage (.905).
DRAGONS RANKED FIRST IN EIGHT NSIC CATEGORIES
•Scoring Offense: 85.1. MSUM has scored 100+ points twice this season, 111 against Presentation College on Dec. 2 and 106 against Northern State on Dec. 20.
•Scoring margin: +20.6. Highlighted by a 71-point victory over Presentation College on Dec. 2 where the Dragons won 111-40.
•Field goal percentage: .512. The Dragons have outshot their opponents in 13 out of 15 games this season, shooting a team-best 63.6 percent (42-66) in the Presentation victory.
•Three-point field goal percentage: .439. Jordan Riewer is 50.6 percent from beyond the three-point line after hitting 41-81 three-pointers.
•Three-point field goals made per game: 11.2. Four Dragons players (Jordan Riewer, Aaron Lien, Tyler Vaughan, and Ngijol Songolo) have hit at least 27 three-pointers. Riewer leads the way with 41.
•Free-throw percentage: .776. Four players are better than .800 and six players are better than .600 from the line, highlighted by Jordan Riewer at .925 (49-53).
•Assists to turnover ratio: 2.0. The Dragons have converted 251 assists this season compared to only 124 turnovers.
SONGOLO'S BIG WEEK
•Junior guard Ngijol Songolo was a big contributor to the Dragons' two victories over Northern State and Jamestown. Coming off the bench in both games, Songolo scored 19 points in the win over Northern State on Dec. 20 and 12 points in the victory over Jamestown on Dec. 21.
•The Madison, Wis. native tied a career high on Dec. 20 when he scored 19 points against Northern State. Songolo shot 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field on the game, was 2-of-3 from the three-point line, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. The guard also had one rebound and one steal in the game.
•Against Jamestown, Songolo had 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 from the three-point line, while grabbing two rebounds, and dishing out two assists.
•Songolo has flourished in the sixth man role for the Dragons, averaging 9.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Songolo is shooting 46 percent from the field, 46.6 percent from the three-point line, and 86.4 percent from the free throw line.
DRAGONS HIT THE GLASS
•MSUM rebounded very well in the 106-86 win over Northern State on Dec. 20. The Dragons outrebounded the Wolves 33-20, including 13-5 on the offensive glass. The +13 margin and 13 offense rebounds were both season highs for the Dragons.
•Senior guard Jordan Riewer led the team in rebounding for the game, grabbing six rebounds, two on the offensive end. Senior forward Urbane Bingham and junior guard Tyler Vaughan each had five rebounds while sophomore forward Matt Nelson had four and junior forward Isaac Sevlie had three.
•Sophomore guard Aaron Lien leads the team in rebounding this season, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game. His 4.5 rebounds per game on the defensive end is ranked 12th in the NSIC.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT... UPPER IOWA
Record: 8-4, 4-2 NSIC
Last Game: Defeated Winona State 90-76
Notes: Upper Iowa is currently 8-4 on the season after starting the season 3-1. The Peacocks have split their last four games, picking up wins over Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 13 and Winona State on Dec. 20. Like MSUM, Upper Iowa competed in the Northwest Missouri State Classic to begin the season, beating Fort Hays State on Nov. 14 before falling to Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 15.
•Senior Bo Pagel has only played in seven games this season, but is leading the team by averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 82.5 percent from the free throw line.
•Senior guard Grant Lang leads the team in overall points scored this season, scoring 130 points in 12 games for an average of 10.8 per game. Lang also leads the team in three-point field goals made per game at 2.2.
•Junior forward Jordan Hay leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 per game and sophomore guard Jace Hanna leads the team in assists per game at 3.8.
•The Peacocks trail only MSUM in scoring offense in the NSIC, averaging 84.2 points per game. Upper Iowa leads the conference in steals per game at 8.8.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT... WINONA STATE
Record: 5-5, 2-4 NSIC
Last Game: Lost to Upper Iowa 90-76
Notes: After dropping its first game of the season, the Warriors responded with four straight victories, including its first NSIC game against Upper Iowa on Nov. 29. After the stretch however, Winona State has struggled, winning only one game in its past five. The Warriors last win came on Dec. 12 when they beat Concordia-St. Paul 75-56.
•Sophomore guard Riley Bambenek has been a main contributor for the Warriors this season, leading the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game (11th in the NSIC) while also grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game. Bambenek also leads the team in assists per game with 3.2.
•Sophomore forward Kyle Bauman leads the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game while contributing 6.1 points per game.
•Sophomore guard Isaiah Gray is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game.
•Winona State currently leads the NSIC in blocks per game as a team, averaging 4.4 per contest.
