SIOUX FALLS, S. D. – The No. 10-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team had a chance to tie in the final seconds but came up short in a heartbreaking 85-81 loss to Minnesota State (Mankato) on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Central Region tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Dragons end the season 30-6 while the Mavericks improved to 22-9.

MSUM was led by sophomore guard Tanner Kretchman who had a career-high 27 points and added six assists. With his six assists, Kretchman moved onto the all-time assist leader charts with 267 total career assists. Junior guard Aaron Lien had 19 points and eight rebounds while senior center Isaac Sevlie had 13 points and two boards. Senior guard Tyler Vaughan had 10 points and senior guard Ngijol Songolo had nine points and dished out three assists in his first game back from injury.

The Dragons shot 48 percent from the field while the Mavericks shot 57 percent. The Dragons grabbed 26 boards and was 14-of-19 from the free throw line while MSU Mankato had 33 rebounds and went 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.

The Dragons started out strong, taking a 13-6 lead with 13 minutes to play in the first half on a jumper from Sevlie. The Mavericks wouldn't go away, however, taking a 32-30 lead with just under five minutes to play in the half before Kretchman would hit a monster jumper and give the Dragons the lead at 34-33. The score was tied at 42 all when Kretchman would again come up huge, hitting a triple at the buzzer and giving the Dragons a 45-42 lead going into the half.

There was no clear leader in the second half, with neither team ever leading by more than three until the Mavericks took the lead on a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to give them the victory. The margin for the majority of the second half was only one, with the lead swinging in favor of both teams at times.

"It came down to a couple of possessions and a couple of tough breaks that didn't go our way down the stretch and that's just the way it went today," said Lien after the game.

The game was the final in a Dragon uniform for Vaughan, Sevlie, Songolo, senior guard Evan Holt and senior guard Ryan Benoy.

"It's quite a legacy these seniors have left. I'm just so proud. I don't know how many teams have won 65 games over the past two seasons, but I can tell you it's not many. It's just been an absolute blast for me," said MSUM head coach Chad Walthall.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons are 126-39 over the past five seasons making it the most successful five year run in program history. It marks only the third time that 100 games were won during a five year run:
 
2011/2012 through 2015/2016 à 126-39
2010/2011 through 2014/2015 à 111-45
1977/1978 through 1981/1982 à 106-41