MOORHEAD, Minn.--Defense and rebounding were the key to the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team's 69-42 win over Minnesota Crookston on Friday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Dragons held the Golden Eagles to 42 points, the second lowest amount they have allowed this season.
With the win, MSUM improves to 21-1 on the season and 12-1 in the NSIC. Minnesota Crookston drops to 6-11 and 4-9 in the NSIC.
MSUM shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field and held Minnesota Crookston to 34.7 percent (17-of-49) from the field. The Dragons also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-25 and forced 11 turnovers.
Senior guard
Jordan Riewer led the Dragons with 11 points on the night, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists in the process. Senior guard
Prescott Williams grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Dragons and contributed six points. Other Dragons to score in double digits included junior guard
Tyler Vaughan, junior guard
Evan Holt, and senior forward
Urbane Bingham, who all had 10 points.
MSUM came out of the locker room hot, scoring the first 19 of 21 points in the game. Riewer had six points in the first 11 minutes of the game as MSUM led 19-2 with 8:54 left in the first half. The Dragons held UMC to 17 first half points as they took a 36-17 lead into halftime. The Dragons scored 20 points in the paint and had 11 points off turnovers in the half.
A lay up from Vaughan gave the Dragons a 43-22 lead at the 15:02 mark of the second half to push MSUM's lead to 21 points. The Golden Eagles never got the lead back to less than 20 points after that moment, as the Dragons led by as much as 30 points in route to their 69-42 victory.
The 27-point margin of victory is the 19
th time this season the Dragons have won by 11 or more points and the 10
th time they have won by 20 or more.
The Dragons will be in action again on Saturday as they host Bemidji State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight's 69-42 victory marked the sixth time since 2000 that the Dragons have held their opponent to under 50 points in conference play at home. The Dragons beat Bemidji St. 82-48 on Jan. 5, 2013, Upper Iowa 72-47 on Jan. 12, 2008, Minnesota Morris 73-48 on Jan. 11, 2003, Wayne St. 76-48 on Feb. 23, 2002, and Minnesota Crookston 74-48 on Jan. 26, 2002
