MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (13-3, 8-2 NSIC) continues the 2016-17 regular season this week with a set of NSIC road games at Augustana (12-4, 7-3 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. and Wayne State (5-11, 3-7 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.
 
MSUM is a perfect 5-0 in conference road games this season, having beat Northern State (Nov. 26), Minnesota Crookston (Dec. 9), Bemidji State (Dec. 10), Minot State (Jan. 6) and U-Mary (Jan. 7).
 
Last weekend the Dragons downed NSIC foes Minot State (82-74) and Mary (84-69) on the road. MSUM improved to 2-0 against each school this season.
 
Senior guard Aaron Lien is scoring a team-high 18.0 points per game while shooting .559 from the field. Senior guard Jon Doss is collecting a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game, while adding 11.4 points for the Dragons. Junior guard Tanner Kretchman is scoring 16.6 points per game with a 4.8 assist to turnover ratio. Freshman Matt Anderson is scoring a team-high 8.5 points per game off the bench.
 
The Dragons are first in the NSIC averaging 88.6 points per game, and are out rebounding their opponents 35.9-32.4. MSUM's opponents are averaging 78.6 points per game.
 
Head coach Chad Walthall is in his 7th season with an overall record of 154-54.
 
How to Follow...
Game 17: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
Game 18: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
Scouting the Opposition...
Augustana
Augustana enters the matchup with MSUM having won two straight games after dropping two straight. The Vikings downed the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul in their last outing 84-76. Augustana is 7-3 in the NSIC, currently sitting in third in the NSIC South Division.
 
Jordan Spencer averages a team-high 15.5 points per game for a Vikings squad with four players averaging double figures. Mike Busack (14.5), Adam Beyer (12.1) and John Warren (10.4) round out the double figure scorers. Busack averages a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Spencer averages a NSIC leading 7.3 assists per game.
 
Augustana is averaging 82.6 points per game, while holding its opponents to 70.3 points per game.
 
Tom Billeter is in his 14th year as Augustana's head coach with a record of 259-147.
 
Wayne State
Wayne State currently sits at 5-11 overall and 3-7 in the NSIC. The Wildcats split a pair of games on the road last weekend, beating Concordia-St. Paul (71-51) on Friday, before falling to Minnesota State (87-78) on Saturday. Wayne State sits alone in seventh place in the NSIC South Division.
 
Kendall Jacks leads Wayne State with 13.8 points per game; Matt Thomas is second on the team with 11.6 points. Brian Goodwin has a team-high 37 assists, while Jordan Cornelius hauls in a team-best 5.4 rebounds.
 
Wayne State averages a -2.3 scoring margin scoring only 73.0 points per game, with its opponents averaging 75.3 points.
Jeff Kaminsky is 5-11 in his first season at the helm for Wayne State.
 
Kretchman Leading by Example
The junior point guard is second on the team in scoring and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. Kretchman recorded a career-high 41 points off 11-of-20 shooting against Northern State on Dec. 17. His 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the NSIC and is second in the NCAA.
 
Anderson Leading off the Bench
Freshman forward Matt Anderson has found himself as the Dragon's leading scorer off the bench. The Wisconsin native averages 8.5 points per game with 3.9 rebounds. He scored a career-high 22 points against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 12.
 
Lien Proving to be a Leader         
Senior guard Aaron Lien is leading the Dragons in four statistical categories. His 18.0 points per game, 55.9 field goal percentage, 87.1 free-throw percentage and 12 steals are all bests for MSUM. Lien recorded a career-high 36 points against Northern State on Dec. 17.
 
Making the Most of the Charity Stripe
MSUM's 77.4 free throw percentage leads the NSIC. The Dragons have six players who are averaging at least 80.0 percent from the free throw line. Freshman guard Evan Hines (1.000), freshman guard Cody Dorow (1.000), senior guard Aaron Lien (.871), senior guard Jon Doss (.830), junior guard Tanner Kretchman (.812), and senior forward Ayob Ayob (.805) all average at least 80.0 percent from the line.
 
Scoring Well
The Dragons are scoring an NSIC-best 88.6 points per game this season, while holding their opponents to 78.6 points per game. MSUM scored a season-high 117 points in a double overtime loss to Northern State (118-117) on Dec. 17. MSUM's 88.6 points per game ranks 21st in the NCAA.
 
Take Care of the Ball
When it comes to taking care of the ball and not turning it over MSUM is a model for the success in the NCAA. The Dragon's 8.4 turnovers per game rank first in the NCAA and the NSIC. MSUM has had less than 10 turnovers in 11 games this season, with a season-low four turnovers coming against Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 22.
 
Lien and Kretchman Continue to Climb
Senior guard Aaron Lien has moved himself into the top-10 all-time scorers at MSUM. Lien's 48 points last weekend pushed him past former all-American Isaac Sevlie.  Lien is in ninth place with 1,424 points, 44 points behind Jim Kapitan in eighth place (1,468). The all-time points leader is Ralph Western with 2,015 points. Lien has also moved to fifth all time in three-point field goal makes (199) and attempts (475)
 
Junior guard Tanner Kretchman continues his climb to the top of the all-time assist leaders. Currently in second with 368 assists, the junior is just 70 assists behind all-time leader Jordan Riewer (438). Kretchman is averaging 6.3 assists per game and is on pace to set the all-time record before the end of the regular season.
 
Lien Closing in on 100
Senior guard Aaron Lien will go down as one of the most prolific players in MSUM's history. Lien has played in every game since arriving on campus, started in 91-of-120 games, with a record of 99-21. The senior has amassed an impressive 82.5 win percentage at MSUM.
 
Up Next
MSUM returns home after the road trip for games with Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 20 and St. Cloud State on Jan. 21.