Game Notes
MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (3-5, 1-1 NSIC) will return home to take on Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents, University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University.

HOW TO FOLLOW...
Minnesota Crookston: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
Bemidji State: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm

THIS WEEKEND...
The Dragons will return to Moorhead to host  Minnesota Crookston, Friday at 8 p.m. and Bemidji State, Saturday at 6 p.m.

LOOKING BACK...
MSUM split its first pair of NSIC games last weekend. MSUM first defeated U-Mary, 89-82, in its first NSIC game of the season. Junior guard Travaun Coad recorded his first double double as a Dragon with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore guard Johnny Beeninga scored a career-high, 26 points. Evan Hines and Addison Park also scored in double digits with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

The Dragons fell to Minot State, 78-64. MSUM cut a 23-point deficit to eight in the second half but came up short. Three players scored in double figures led by Beeninga with 16 points and two assists, while senior guard Tanner Kretchman had 15 points, two assists and one steal. Park totaled 10 points and added five rebounds and two blocks.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION...
University of Minnesota Crookston
The Golden Eagles are 5-4, 2-1 NSIC early this season after falling to St. Cloud State, 69-57, before defeating Minnesota Duluth, 98-90. Minnesota Crookston also beat Mayville State in at nonconference game on Tuesday, 88-64. Harrison Cleary leads the Golden Eagles averaging 23.1 points per game and adds 44 assists. Cleary also holds and NSIC-best free throw percentage of .957 (45-of-47). Alan Hodge is averaging 19.1 ppg, while Chase Knickerbocker is averaging 12.8. Gable Smith leads with 6.8 rebounds per game as well as 13 steals and 29 blocks. UMC is led by head coach Dan Weisse who is in his fourth season.

Bemidji State University
The Beavers are 4-4, 1-2 NSIC so far this season. Last weekend BSU defeaded Minnesota Duluth, 73-63, before falling to St. Cloud State, 96-62. The Beavers offense is led by Jai'Vionne Green with 117 points, averaging 14.6 points per game. Lucas Wendt is averaging 14.0 ppg, while Sharif Black is averaging 12.6 ppg. Black holds team-bests of 5.5 rebounds per game and 11 steals. Christian Pekarek has 38 assists for the Beavers, averaging 4.8 per game. As a team Bemidji State is shooting  45.7 percent compared to its opponents at 43.7 percent. The Beavers are led by sixth year head coach Mike Boschee who has a record of 64-75 at Bemidji State.

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 493 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 7 assists away from becoming the first Dragon to hit 500 career assists. Kretchman is also 14th all time in scoring with 1,297 points and is now fourth in career three-point field goals made with 207. The senior is also leading the NSIC this season in three-point field goals made, averaging 3.0 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 13.8 point per game and adds 19 assists. Anderson is averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He also adds three blocks and one steal. Sophomore guard Evan Hines is averaging 12.3 points per game and leads with 7.9 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 (13.8) , Evan Hines (12.3) and Travaun Coad (12.1).

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. Opponents
MSUM will meet Minnesota Crookston for the 44th time and leads the series, 34-9. The Dragons are meeting Bemidji State for the 181st time, leading the series 98-83

Up Next
The Dragons will travel to Aberdeen, S.D., Dec. 15 to take on Northern State at 8 p.m. before returning home to host the Wolves, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m.