MOORHEAD, Minn.--Head Coach
Chad Walthall earned his 100
th victory as the Head Coach of the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team as MSUM snuck past Minnesota State Mankato 76-72 on Saturday night in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Four Dragons scored in double digits, led by sophomore forward
Aaron Lien with 19 points.
The Dragons had a double digit lead in the first half, but never led by more than eight in the final 18 minutes of the game as Lien hit a jumper to give the Dragons the lead for good at 73-70 with 1:16 left to play in the game.
MSUM improved to 24-1 and 15-1 in the NSIC with win, earning its 12
th straight victory. The Dragons also matched the best start in school history with the victory. Only this year's team and the 1970-71 team has started a season 24-1. MSU Mankato dropped to 16-5 and 11-4 in the NSIC with the loss, its second loss in as many nights.
The Dragons shot 45 percent (27-of-60) in the game from the field and 37 percent (10-of-27) from the three point line. MSU Mankato shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from the three point line. Mankato held the advantage on the boards, 35-30.
Lien led the team in scoring with 19 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Senior guard
Jordan Riewer led the team in rebounds and assists with seven and six, respectively, while contributing 16 points. Junior guard
Ngijol Songolo had 15 points and three rebounds while junior guard
Tyler Vaughan had 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Junior forward
Isaac Sevlie scored six of the Dragons first eight points as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The Dragons then hit five three-pointers after that point, two each coming from Vaughan and Songolo and one coming from Riewer as they led 28-14 with 10:03 left in the first half. The 14-point lead was the largest lead of the night for the Dragons. MSUM held a 10-point advantage heading into halftime at 47-37 after shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field.
The Mavericks began the second half on an 18-8 run to tie the score at 55-55 with 13:30 left in the game, but the Dragons never relinquished the lead as Songolo hit a reverse layup to get the Dragons the lead again at 57-55. The Mavericks cut the lead down to one on four separate occasions in the final four minutes, but two free throw shots from Lien with 24 seconds left gave the Dragons a three point lead. Mankato had two chances to tie the game with three-point opportunities, but they both rimmed out as senior guard
Prescott Williams grabbed a defensive rebound and hit a free throw seal the victory at 76-72.
The Dragons will return to action next Friday, Feb. 6 when it travels to Wayne, Neb. to face Wayne State. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Here are more facts about the path
Chad Walthall has taken to get to his 100
th Dragon victory tonight:
-Walthall is 60-12 in Moorhead, 33-28 on the road and 7-2 on a neutral floor.
-Walthall is 68-36 in the NSIC, 26-1 in non-conference games, 5-4 in the NSIC tournament and led the Dragons to their first NCAA appearance with a win over Southwest Minn. St. on Mar. 10, 2012 in Golden, Colo.
-Walthall is 4-3 in overtime games (2-2 at home, 2-1 on the road).
-Walthall led the Dragons to their first ever home NSIC tournament game in 2012; then again in 2013 and 2014, and is 3-0.
-Walthall led the Dragons to their first title of any sort (NSIC North; 15-7) last year since the 1981/1982 season.
-Walthall is only the second coach to have led his team to back-to-back-to-back 20 win seasons (Dave Schellhase 1979-1982).
-Walthall's 100-42 record (.705 winning percentage) is currently the second highest in school history behind Marv Skaar (.713, 1967-1972).
-Walthall became the fifth Dragon head coach to win 100 games at MSUM (Dave Schellhase 298, Larry MacLeod 136, Sliv Nemzek 106, Stu Engen 102)
