The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (11-3, 6-2 NSIC) continues the 2016-17 regular season this week with a set of NSIC road games at Minot State (7-7, 3-5 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. and Mary (5-9, 3-5 NSIC) on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m.
 
MSUM is a perfect 3-0 in conference road games this season, having beat Northern State (Nov. 26), Minnesota Crookston (Dec. 9) and Bemidji State (Dec. 10).
 
After the holiday break the Dragons resumed play with home games against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. MSUM recorded its second conference loss against Minnesota State on Friday night, 74-65. The next night MSUM downed Concordia-St. Paul 74-60.
 
Senior guard Aaron Lien is scoring a team-high 17.1 points per game while shooting .548 from the field. Senior forward Ayob Ayob leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 per game. Ayob is averaging 16.1 points per game with a .494 three-point field goal percentage. Junior guard Tanner Kretchman is scoring 16.1 points per game with a 4.8 assist to turnover ratio. Freshman Matt Anderson is scoring a team-high 8.9 points per game off the bench.
 
The Dragons are first in the NSIC averaging 89.4 points per game, and are out rebounding their opponents 36.1-33.1. MSUM's opponents are averaging 79.6 points per game.
 
Head coach Chad Walthall is in his 7th season with an overall record of 152-55.
 
How to Follow...
Game 15: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
Game 16: (Watch) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
(Listen) https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
Scouting the Opposition...
Minot State
Minnesota State enters the matchup with MSUM having won two out of the last three games. The Beavers downed the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth in their last outing 67-56. Minot State is 3-5 in the NSIC, currently sitting in fourth in the North Division.
 
Tyler Rudolph averages a team-high 19.9 points per game for a Beavers squad with five players averaging double figures. Luis Ricci Mala (12.9), Nathan Mertens (11.3), Stevan Jovanovic (10.8) and Nathaniel Moore (10.4) round out the double figure scorers. Rudolph averages a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game. Mala averages a team-high 3.9 assists per game.
 
Minot State is averaging 80.2 points per game, while holding its opponents to 77.4 points per game.
 
Matt Murken is in his fifth year as Minot State's head coach with a record of 54-72.
 
U-Mary
Mary currently sits at 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC. The Marauders lost both contests last weekend to Minnesota Duluth (86-84) and St. Cloud State (88-73), and have lost four-straight games. Mary is tied with Minot State in fourth in the NSIC North Division.
 
Bryan Jefferson leads Mary with 15.9 points per game; Damonta Henry is second on the team with 14.5 points. Pat Thomas averages 4.0 assists per game, while Jefferson leads with 7.2 rebounds per game.
 
Mary averages 74.4 points per game with its opponents averaging 77.8.
 
Joe Kittel is 24-21 in his second season at the helm for Mary.
 
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.
 
Park Contributing off the Bench
Sophomore forward Addison Park has found himself as a key contributor off the bench for the Dragons. Park is averaging 8.1 points per game and 4.2 rebounds. Since December Park has shot a team-best 35-of-45 (77.8 percent) from the field, including a perfect 10-of-10 performance against Minnesota Crookston in an 82-81 win on Dec. 9.
 
Lien Proving to be a Leader         
Senior guard Aaron Lien is leading the Dragons in four statistical categories. His 17.1 points per game, 54.8 field goal percentage, 86.5 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 78.0 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 (.865), senior guard Jon Doss (.850), senior forward Ayob Ayob (.824) and junior guard Tanner Kretchman (.814) all average at least 80.0 percent form the line.
 
Scoring Well
The Dragons are scoring an NSIC-best 89.4 points per game this season, while holding their opponents to 79.6 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 89.4 points per game ranks 20th in the nation.
 
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 8.3 turnovers per game rank first in the NCAA and the NSIC. MSUM has had less than 10 turnovers in 10 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 24 points last weekend pushed him up to 1,376 points for his career. Isaac Sevlie sits in ninth place with 1,397 points, while the all-time points leader is Ralph Western with 2,015 points.
 
Junior guard Tanner Kretchman continued his climb to the top of the all-time assist leaders. Currently in second with 358 assists, the junior is just 80 assists behind the all-time leader Jordan Riewer (438). Kretchman is averaging 6.5 assists per game and is on pace to set the all-time record before the end of the regular season.
 
Doss Heating Up
Senior guard Jon Doss is averaging 11.6 points per game, and has scored 16 points or more in three of the last five games. Doss scored a team-high 19 points in the Dragons last game against Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 31 in a 74-60 win.
Up Next
MSUM continues its road trip with games against Augustana on Jan. 13 and Wayne State on Jan. 14.