MOORHEAD, Minn. – Minnesota State University Moorhead (7-1, 3-0 NSIC) led for the majority of the game, but a second half run from Minot State (4-5, 0-3 NSIC) made the game close with the Dragons eventually winning 96-87. For the second-straight night and third-straight game senior guard Aaron Lien was the leading scorer for MSUM with 19 points.
 
How it happened…
Minot State grabbed the first points of the game, but the Dragons quickly responded with points from senior forward Matt Nelson and senior guard Jon Doss. MSUM took a 24-13 lead into the first media timeout. The lead fluctuated throughout the remainder of the second half with the Dragons pushing their lead to 13 with 6:11 left in the first half, up 36-25. Minot State ended the first half on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 44-39 in favor of the Dragons at the half. The Dragons shot 54.8 percent from the field (17-of-31) in the first half, including 10-of-18 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Ayob Ayob had a team-high nine points in the first half.
 
An 8-2 run out of the intermission saw Minot State take its first lead of the game since the opening possession, 47-46. Three-point baskets from redshirt freshman forward Matt Anderson and Doss pushed MSUM's lead back to five, 52-47. The Dragons inflated their lead to 10 points before another Minot run cut the lead to three with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. Up 61-58 MSUM utilized three-point shots and good defense to build n 14 point lead with 3:04 left to play, up 85-71. Minot State tried to foul to bring the game closer, but the Dragons went 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the final minutes to secure the 96-87 win.
 
MSUM finished the game 34-of-64 from the field (53.1 percent), while the visiting Beavers finished 35-of-67 (52.2 percent) from the field. The Dragons had the advantage in rebounds 36-30. MSUM finished the game with 19 assists to just six turnovers.
 
Impact Performances…
Senior guard Aaron Lien led the Dragons in scoring for the third-straight game with 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field. Lien also had four rebounds and three assists.
 
Junior guard Tanner Kretchman went 5-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line for 18 points. He had five assists, two rebounds and a steal.
 
Senior forward Ayob Ayob hit five three-point shots for 15 points, while collecting seven rebounds and assisting on two shots.

Freshman guard Johnny Beeninga and sophomore forward Addison Park each had 10 points for MSUM off the bench.
 
Steve D'eustachio Stat of the Game…
Tonight was the tenth straight win over Minot State; the last time the Beavers beat the Dragons was an 81-77 affair in Minot, N.D. on Dec. 12, 1994. Tonight's victory was also the eighth straight for the Dragons at home. The last time Minot State won in Moorhead was a 90-78 decision on Dec. 3, 1988 (28 years ago today).
 
Up next…
The Dragons hit the road next weekend for a pair of NSIC games with Minnesota Crookston (Dec. 9) and Bemidji State (Dec. 10).