ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 21 Minnesota State University Moorhead won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season title outright on Friday night in St. Cloud, as the Dragons beat the Huskies in overtime, 104-97.
 
With the win, the Dragons improved to 23-4 overall and 18-3 in conference play.
 
How it happened…
MSUM got off to a slow start, shooting just 1-of-5 at the first media timeout. The Huskies shot 5-of-8 from deep building a 23-13 lead over the Dragons with 9:55 left in the first half.
 
Freshman guard Johnny Beeninga started a 7-0 Dragons run with a free throw, pulling the Dragons within 31-27. MSUM trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, but entered halftime down, 40-35.
 
MSUM opened the second half on a 13-8 run, tying the game at 48-48 with 16:38 left to play. The back-and-forth continued, with the Dragons taking their first lead of the game, 59-58, off a layup from senior guard Aaron Lien.
 
A three-point play from freshman forward Matt Anderson put MSUM up 68-65 with under nine minutes to play.  MSUM pushed its lead to five points, but St. Cloud State came back to hold a 76-75 lead with 4:44 left to play.
 
A big offensive rebound and put back from senior guard Jon Doss put the Dragons up, 84-81, after completing the three-point play.
 
MSUM led 86-84 with 6.7 seconds left in the game, senior forward Ayob Ayob got whistled for a foul as St. Cloud State's Gage Davis shot a three, Davis made two-of-three free throws. Lien couldn't get a shot off as time expired at the end of the half.
 
In overtime with the Dragons trailing 88-86, it was Anderson once again who completed the three-point play putting MSUM up 89-88. MSUM maintained a two point lead with 33.5 seconds left, two made free throws from Lien put the Dragons up 98-94, with MSUM eventually winning 104-97.
 
Impact Performances…
Freshman forward Matt Anderson had a game-changing night off the bench for the Dragons. Anderson finished with a team-high 22 points and five rebounds. Anderson completed three separate three-point plays.
 
Junior guard Tanner Kretchman finished with 21 points and 10 assists, to go along with four rebounds. Kretchman shot 8-of-17 from the field.
 
Senior forward Ayob Ayob added 17 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Aaron Lien finished with 16 points, and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
 
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game…
Tonight marks the Dragons' eighth straight win over St. Cloud State and their fourth in a row in St. Cloud. The last time St. Cloud State won over the Dragons in St. Cloud was when current Dragon's Assistant Coach, and then redshirt sophomore, Tim Bergstraser registered his third career double-double with 11 points and a career high 13 rebounds to help his Huskies to a 77-56 victory on Jan. 21, 2012.
 
Up Next…
MSUM finishes the regular season at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m.