Game Notes PDF
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (4-6, 2-2 NSIC) will travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on No. 13-ranked Northern State University.
HOW TO FOLLOW...
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
THIS WEEKEND...
The Dragons have a rare single game weekend as they face No. 13 Northern State, Friday at 8 p.m.
LOOKING BACK...
MSUM split a pair of NSIC games last weekend. MSUM first defeated Minnesota Crookston, 81-78, on Friday. The Dragons cut at 12-point deficit late in the second half, led by senior guard
Tanner Kretchman who recorded 22 points in the second half alone. Kretchman totaled 24 points and two assists, sophomore guard
Johnny Beeninga added 21 points and three assists.
Matt Anderson and
A.J. Nywesh had nine points and three rebounds, each. Sophomore guard
Evan Hines totaled six points and led the rebounding for the Dragons with seven.
MSUM shot 51.7 (31-of-60) compared to Minnesota Crookston at 45.2 percent (28-of-62). The Dragons outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 37-31.
The Dragons fell to Bemidji State on Saturday, 82-81, due to a last second shot by the Beavers. Sophomore guard
Johnny Beeninga led the scoring with 19 points and added four assists on the night. Junior
Addison Park totaled 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore Guard also had six rebounds and added 15 points to the Dragons efforts, while senior guard
Tanner Kretchman had 11 points and three assists.
There were 15 lead changes and 11 ties in the entirety of the game. Bemidji State shot 55 percent from the field (33-of-60) while MSUM shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57). BSU also had a 30-28 edge in rebounds.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION...
No. 13 Northern State University
The Wolves are 10-1 over all, and 4-0 in NSIC play this season with its only loss being in nonconference play to No. 1 Northwest Missouri State. Last weekend Northern State defeated both Bemidji State (75-54) and Minnesota Crookston (76-64). NSU's top scorer is Ian Smith who is averaging 13. 2 points per game. Carter Evans is averaging 11.9 ppg, while DJ Pollard is averaging 11.7. Evans holds an NSIC-best field goal percentage of 68.2 percent (60-of-88). Smith is leading the team in assists with 40, while Pollard has 26 assists. Logan Doyle leads the rebounding, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game. As a team NSU is averaging 74.3 ppg while holding its opponents to 60.5 ppg. The Wolves are second in the NSIC in blocked shots, averaging 4.55 per game. Northern State is led by Paul Sather who is in his eighth season as head coach with a record of 126-78.
More About MSUM...
Kretchman Breaks Records
Senior
Tanner Kretchman became the all-time career assist leader earlier this season in MSUM's victory over Northern Michigan. Kretchman now has 498 assists over assistant coach
Jordan Riewer with 471. For the first time in the school's history Kretchman has posted back-to-back seasons with at least 200 assists. He is just 2 assists away from becoming the first Dragon to hit 500 career assists. Kretchman is also 13th all time in scoring with 1,332 points and is now fourth in career three-point field goals made with 212. The senior is also leading the NSIC this season in three-point field goals made, averaging 2.9 per game.
Sophomores Shine
With only one senior on the team this year some younger players stepped up to take a bigger role on the team. The Dragons starting lineup includes sophomores
Johnny Beeninga and
Matt Anderson. Beeninga scored a career-high 26 points in the Dragons win at U-Mary. He is second on the team, averaging 15.0 point per game and adds 26 assists. Anderson is averaging 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He also adds four blocks and two steals. Sophomore guard
Evan Hines is averaging 11.9 points per game and leads with 7.6 rebounds per game.
Offensive Distribution
The Dragons have gotten some great offensive distribution early in the season with four players averaging at least 12.0 points per game.
Tanner Kretchman (17.6),
Johnny Beeninga (15.0) ,
Travaun Coad (12.1) and
Evan Hines (11.9).
Who's Back?
The Dragons return eight players from a season ago, including four of the top-seven scorers, including starter
Tanner Kretchman. Kretchman averaged 16.7/ppg, sophomore forward
Matt Anderson averaged 8/ppg, junior forward
Addison Park averaged 7.7/ppg and sophomore guard Jonny Beeninga averaged 4.5/ppg.
Newcomers
The Dragons welcome seven newcomers to the squad this season. Junior guard
Travaun Coad, junior forward
Cody Cox, junior forward
Jake Johnson, freshman guard
Bryce Irsfeld, freshman guard
Siman Sem, freshman guard
Gavin Baumgartner and freshman center
Jesse Bergh.
Riewer Returns
Former Dragon standout
Jordan Riewer has returned this season, except instead of taking the court he will be on the sidelines. The Staples, Minn. native is in his first season as a Dragon assistant coach after playing overseas for the Oettinger Rockets in Germany. While a player, he was named the 2014-15 MSUM Male Athlete of the Year, and helped the Dragons reach the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history. He left MSUM with 1,382 points scored, and is second in school history with 471 assists and holds the record with 226 three-pointers made.
Walthall Back for 8th Season
Head Coach
Chad Walthall is entering his eighth season at the helm for MSUM. Walthall has amassed an impressive 165-57 record (.743) during his time as the head coach of the Dragons. Walthall is joined on the coaching staff by
Justin Wieck (fourth season) and
Jordan Riewer (first season).
All-Time vs. Northern State
MSUM will meet Northern State for the 102nd time with the Wolves leading the series, 38-63.
Up Next
The Dragons will return home to host Northern State, Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. to conclude the season series between the teams.
