ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team fell to St. Cloud State University on the road by a score of 99-84 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action on Saturday night.
MSUM falls to 15-7 overall and 9-5 in the NSIC while SCSU improves to 14-6 overall and 9-5 in the NSIC
Senior guard Travaun Coad led the Dragons with 20 points, while senior forward Addison Park and freshman guard Gavin Baumgartner each contributed 16 points. Freshman guard Bryce Irsfeld and Baumgartner each had four assists. Coad and Park led the team in rebounds with 10 and 7, respectively.
MSUM shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the field compared to 59.6 percent (34-of-57) from SCSU. The Dragons outrebounded the Huskies 33-25.
The first half featured back-and forth action as MSUM went up 11-9 at the 15:06 mark off a jumper from Park. SCSU would go on a run late, but the Dragons pulled within two and trailed 26-24 with 8:35 remaining in the half. The Huskies would go on a ten-point run before a layup from Park brought the score to 42-31 as the Dragons trailed with 4:21 on the clock. MSUM would go into the break trailing 51-43 as both Park and Baumgartner had ten points in the half.
In the second half a jumper from Park had the Dragons trailing 56-50 with 17:50 on the clock. The Dragons would go on a six-point run to cut St. Cloud State's lead to 67-61 with 13 minutes to go. Coad sunk three free-throws during the run. Baumgartner hit a three-pointer with 11:18 on the clock to pull MSUM within two as they trailed 70-68. A turnover from the Huskies and a steal from junior guard Johnny Beeninga allowed for a layup from Park to tie the game 70-70 and force a timeout from SCSU. The Huskies would reclaim the lead and go on an 11-point run over the next four minutes. The Huskies gained momentum and continued to build their lead as they claimed a 99-82 win.
MSUM is back on the road next week as they face Minnesota State on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Concordia-St. Paul on Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Before tonight's action, Gavin Baumgartner (.531) and Addison Park (.525) were the top two three-point shooters in the NSIC.
