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WHAT'S AHEAD...

MOORHEAD, Minn. – The No. 4-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team is back in action Saturday and Sunday with contests at Upper Iowa and Winona State Friday and Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

The Peacocks of Upper Iowa are 6-9 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC. Junior guard Jimmy Roth leads Upper Iowa in scoring. averaging 12 points per game and grabbing 4.6 boards per game while junior center Josh Weeber has 11.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. As a team, the Peacocks have 80.6 points per game shooting 45 percent from the field. They average 36.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. Upper Iowa is coached by Brooks McKowen who is in his third season as head coach of the Peacocks.

Saturday the Dragons will travel to Winona State to face the 5-5 Warriors (4-2 NSIC) who are coached by Todd Eisner who is in his first season at the helm of the program. The Warriors are led by junior forward Kyle Bauman who averages 15.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 71 percent from three-point land. Junior guard Riley Bambenek has 12.8 points and 2.6 assists per game. As a team, the Warriors are averaging 72.9 points per game while giving up 70.6 points. They average 35 rebounds and 13.4 assists per game.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK...

With victories over Northern State and Crossroads College on Dec. 19 and 20, the Dragons improved their record to 14-1 overall with a conference record of 6-0.

In its 82-71 victory over Northern State, the Dragons had five men scoring in double figures led by senior forward Isaac Sevlie, who had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Tanner Kretchman had 16 points while senior guard Ngijol Songolo had 13. Junior guard Aaron Lien had 11 points and junior forward Ayob Ayob had 10 points and added four assists two blocks. Senior guard Tyler Vaughan had five assists while Kretchman had four.

In the match, MSUM shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60), compared to 38.5 percent (25-of-65) for the Wolves. The Dragons had a 44-35 edge in rebounds. Saturday Crossroads College came to Nemzek Fieldhouse and the Dragon men set a single-game school scoring record with a 126-47 win. The previous single-game school record was 118 points and was set in 1957 with a match against Michigan Tech.

Senior guard Evan Holt and freshman center Addison Park set career-highs in points. Holt had 19 points and five steals while Park added 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Eight Dragons scored in double digits as senior center Isaac Sevlie had 18, junior forward Ayob Ayob had 16, senior guard Tyler Vaughan, sophomore guard Tanner Kretchman, junior guard Aaron Lien, and junior forward Matt Nelson all had 12.

Ayob and Vaughan each added nine rebounds while Kretchman added seven assists.

The Dragons shot 64.2 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from three-point range compared to 23.9 percent from the floor for the Knights. The Dragons grabbed 58 rebounds while the Knights had 31. MSUM had 65 points from its bench while CC had just 21.

NOTABLES...

• The Dragons men remain nationally ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll as they are ranked fourth for the third straight week. MSUM has been ranked in the poll since December of 2014.

• MSUM has won 14 straight games which is the second longest winning streak in school history. The record is held by the 1970-71 team who held a 15 game-winning streak and ended their season at 24-2.

• The Dragons broke a school record in single-game most points scored in its match against Crossroads College. The previous record was held by the 1957 Dragon squad when they defeated Michigan Tech with 118 total points.