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WHAT'S AHEAD
MOORHEAD, Minn. --With two wins this week, the No. 19-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team has a chance to match its best start to a season since a 12-0 start to the 2011-12 season. Already 10-0, MSUM will play three games this week, beginning with a nonconference matchup against Mayville State on Monday night in Moorhead, Minn. The Dragons will then return to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play over the weekend when it travels to St. Cloud, Minn. to face St. Cloud State on Friday night and Duluth, Minn. to take on Minnesota Duluth on Saturday evening.
Live video and audio with Dragon broadcaster Steve d'Eustachio will be available for the Mayville State game at portal.stretchinternet.com/msum.
First off, the Comets of Mayville State visit Nemzek Fieldhouse for a nonconference matchup on Monday night. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. MSUM holds the edge in the series history between the two teams, 65-41. Last season, MSUM defeated the Comets 84-51 in a game in Moorhead, Minn. on Nov. 9, 2013. Then-junior forward Urbane Bingham scored a game high 16 points in the matchup. Mayville State is 6-3 heading into the game with Dragons and is currently on a five game winning streak, including home wins over Minnesota Morris and Johnson and Wales over the last week. Junior forward Chuck Robinson leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Next, the Dragons will hit the road and face St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minn. on Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. The Huskies hold an 80-39 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, but MSUM comes into Friday with momentum, beating St. Cloud State three out of four times in the last two seasons. The Dragons swept both matchups last year, winning in overtime on Jan. 25, 2014 in St. Cloud 95-88 and 91-88 in Moorhead on Feb. 7, 2014. Tarell Clark scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Moorhead victory. The Huskies are 5-3 so far this season, including posting a 2-1 record last week. On Tuesday, St. Cloud State destroyed Crossroads College 102-48 at home before taking to the road for two NSIC games over the weekend. SCSU beat Bemidji State 88-65 on Friday night before falling to Minnesota Crookston 99-85 on Saturday evening. Junior guard Jordan Poydras has been a solid performer so far for the Huskies, leading the team in scoring with 14.5 points per game while grabbing 4.8 rebounds and dishing out 2.4 assists per game.
Lastly, MSUM will face Minnesota Duluth on Saturday evening in Duluth, Minn. Game time is slated to begin at 6 p.m. In 108 all-time series meetings, the Bulldogs hold a 74-34 advantage over MSUM. Last season, the two teams split road victories over each other. MSUM grabbed a five point 76-71 win in Duluth on Jan. 24, 2014 while the Bulldogs got their revenge in a 70-67 win in Moorhead on Feb. 8, 2014. Then-freshman guard Aaron Lien scored a then-career high 18 points on 7-15 shooting in the win in Duluth. The Bulldogs are 5-4 this season and have won their last two games, both coming on the road last weekend. UMD beat Minnesota Crookston 66-50 on Friday night and defeated Bemidji State 79-66 on Saturday evening. Senior center Brett Ervin is second in the NSIC in scoring and leads the Bulldogs with 18.0 points per game while also snagging 5.0 rebounds per game.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
MSUM added three home wins to its record last week The Dragons crushed Presentation College on Tuesday night before defeating NSIC foes Minot State and Mary over the weekend.
The Dragons went on a 37-0 run in the first half and led 61-8 at half in a blow-out 111-40 victory over Presentation College on Tuesday night. Seven players scored in double digits for the Dragons, paced by junior guard Ngijol Songolo with 16. Freshman guard Tanner Kretchman sets career highs in points, assists, and steals with 15, six, and four, respectively.
MSUM shot 58.6 percent (34-58) from the field and 51.6 percent (16-31) from the three-point line in a 99-64 win over Minot State on Friday night. Six Dragons scored in double digits, led by Songolo and junior guard Tyler Vaughan with 15 points each.
Four players scored at least 13 points in the Dragons 81-63 win over Mary on Saturday evening. Senior guard Jordan Riewer led all scores with 24 points. Other scorers in double digits included junior forward Isaac Sevlie with 15, senior guard Prescott Williams with 14, and Vaughan with 13.
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SENIOR LEADERSHIP IN RIEWER
•Senior guard Jordan Riewer is having a career season in his final year as a Dragon. The Staples, Minn. native leads MSUM in points per game (14.5), assists per game (5.5), and free throw percentage (.900). Riewer is tied for 11th in scoring in the NSIC, second in assists per game, third in three-pointers per game (2.7), and first in assist to turnover ratio (6.1).
•Riewer led the Dragons with 24 points in an 81-63 victory over Mary and was 6-11 from the three-pointer line in the game. In a two-minute span in the first half, Riewer hit four consecutive three-pointers to give the Dragons a 20-point lead.Â
•Riewer averaged 21.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in three games at the Alaska Invitational, earning the MVP honor of the tournament. Riewer led the team in scoring in each game,including a career-high 26 points against Alaska Fairbanks. The Dragon point guard did not commit a single turnover in the tournament, notching 17 assists in that span. Riewer was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and nailed 14-of-21 three-pointers in the tournament. Riewer also grabbed 14 rebounds and had one steal a game.
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SEVLIE LEADS NSIC IN BLOCKS
•Junior forward Isaac Sevlie enters the week as the leader in blocks per game in the NSIC with 1.9 per game. Sevlie posted seven blocks over the last week, getting two against Presentation and Minot State, while posting three against Mary. Sevlie has 19 total blocks on the season.
•The 6'9 forward had a career high five blocks in the first game of the season on Nov. 14 against Northwest Missouri State.
•The Red Wing, Minn. native has been a force down low for the Dragons, averaging 11.3 points per game while shooting .563 from the field and grabbing 3.9 rebounds per game.
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WALTHALL WINS NO. 200
•MSUM Head Coach Chad Walthall earned his 200th career victory as a head coach on Tuesday night in the victory over Presentation College.Â
•In five seasons, Walthall has an 86-41 record at MSUM and led the Dragons to their first conference title since 1981-82 last season with a 21-8 record.
•Walthall's 67.7 winning percentage is the second highest of any MSUM head coach, trailing only Marv Skaar (1967-72) who won 71.3 percent of his games (87-35).
•Walthall was 116-69 in seven seasons (2000-07) as the head coach of Division III Loras College.
•The Dragons 10-0 start is their best start since the 2011-12 campaign when they started 12-0. That season, Walthall's second at the helm of MSUM, the Dragons finished 21-10 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
•MSUM President Anne Blackhurst awarded Walthall with game ball celbrating the coach's milestone before the Dragons victory over Minot State on Friday night.
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DRAGONS RANKED FIRST IN SEVEN NSIC CATEGORIES
•Scoring margin: +24.5. Highlighted by a 71-point victory over Presentation College on Dec. 2. The Dragons scored a season-high 111 points in the 111-40 victory.
•Field goal percentage: .524. The Dragons have outshot their opponents in every game this season, shooting a team-best 63.6 percent (42-66) in the Presentation victory.
•Three-point field goal percentage: .473. Aaron Lien is 56.8 percent from beyond the three-point line after hitting 25-44 three-pointers.
•Three-point field goals made per game: 12.4. Four Dragons players (Jordan Riewer, Aaron Lien, Tyler Vaughan, and Ngijol Songolo) have hit at least 17 three-pointers. Riewer leads the way with 27.
•Free-throw percentage: .772. Four players are better than .800 and seven players are better than .700 from the line, highlighted by Jordan Riewer at .900 (18-20).
•Assists per game: 18.0. Jordan Riewer is second the NSIC with 5.5 per game.
•Assists to turnover ratio: 2.2. The Dragons have converted 180 assists this season compared to only 81 turnovers.
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BINGHAM AND VAUGHAN SET CAREER HIGHS
•Senior forward Urbane Bingham set or tied career highs in six categories over the last week. In the win over Presentation, Bingham set highs in rebounds (nine), defensive rebounds (eight), and steals (four) while also tying his career high in blocks with two. Bingham dished out a career high five assists in the win over Minot State and tied a career high in attempts from beyond the three-point line in the win over Mary.
•Junior guard Tyler Vaughan set two career highs in the win over Minot State. Vaughan dished out six assists and grabbed four steal in the win over the Beavers. Vaughan filled the stat line in the Minot State game, scoring 15 points on 5-7 shooting while also grabbing three rebounds.
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FRESHMAN IMPACT
•Freshman guard Tanner Kretchman has given valuable minutes off the bench for the Dragons this season. After hardly ever leaving the court as a prep at Fargo Davies, Kretchman has averaged 15.7 minutes during his freshman campaign. The Fargo, N.D. native has averaged 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, playing the backup point guard role.
•Kretchman's best game to date as a Dragon came on Dec. 2 against Presentation when he scored 15 points, dished out six assists, and added four steals in 25 minutes of action. Each mark was a career high. Kretchman was 5-6 from the field in the game, including 3-4 from the three-point line and 2-2 from the free throw line.
