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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (5-4, 1-2 NSIC) hit the road for their first conference road games. The Dragons take on the UMary on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Minot State on Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are currently on a two-game losing streak. MSUM lost in the final seconds to Minnesota Crookston 68-65, and lost the next day to Bemidji State 79-67.
 
In the loss to the Golden Eagles, the Dragons shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led with a career-high 31 points and also dished out a team-high four assists and pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 12 for MSUM, and freshman forward Dane Zimmer had eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Siman Sem had six points and led MSUM on the glass with eight rebounds.
 
In the loss to the Beavers, MSUM shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field and 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from three-point territory. Irsfeld led the Dragons in scoring with 21 points. Baumgartner scored 16 and led the way in rebounding with nine. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga had 10 points.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
UMary
UMary is currently 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC. UMary is currently on a two-game losing streak, losing to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.  The Marauders are led by three players who are scoring in double figures this season. Senior guard Jaylan White leads the way with 13.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. Junior guard Connor Hellebust is averaging 13.8 points per game and junior forward Matthew Kreklow is averaging 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. In the loss to UMD, White led the way with 17 points, while Hellebust scored 16. Kreklow scored four points and led the Marauders on the glass with nine rebounds.
 
Minot State
Minot State is 6-3 overall this season and 0-3 in the NSIC. Minot is coming off two straight losses, first to UMD, and second to St. Cloud State. The Beavers are led by senior guard Kyle Beisch, who is currently averaging 19.6 points per game. Junior guard Max Cody is averaging 14.4 points and a team-leading 5.9 assists per game. Junior forward Kody Dwyer is averaging 11 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game. In the loss to St. Cloud, Beisch led the way with 28 points on 10-of-27 shooting. Cody added 26 points for the Beavers and also had a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 16.9 points per game on 55.7 percent shooting while Irsfeld is averaging 15.2 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 66 percent from the field this season. On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.1 rebounds per game, followed by sophomore guard Siman Sem and Baumgartner who are averaging 5.9 and 5.1 rebounds per game, respectively. Irsfeld has 2.7 assists per games and senior guard Johnny Beeninga is averaging 2.2 assists per game. Defensively, Sem leads the team in steals with 1.3 steals per game.
 
Run it Back
The Dragons return three of their top five scorers for the 2019-20 season. Last year's freshman class contributed 1,172 points which accounted for 44 percent of the team's total offense. MSUM finished 19-12 in the 2018-19 campaign, which included a seven-game winning streak against NSIC opponents. The 19th win for the Dragons marked the second largest improvement from one season to the next with a 12-game improvement. The Dragons are led by team captains Johnny Beeninga, Bryce Irsfeld, and Gavin Baumgartner. MSUM's basketball program is under the guidance of head coach Chad Walthall, who is in his 10th season as head coach of the Dragons. Currently, the Dragons are 5-4 overall and look to snap their two-game losing streak on the road this week against UMary and Minot State.
 
Milestone Watch
Senior guard Johnny Beeninga is currently 25 points away from hitting the 1,000-career point mark. Head coach Chad Walthall is just four games away from his 200th career win as head coach of the Dragons.
 
Road Warriors
MSUM recently concluded a seven-game homestand. Now, the Dragons play the next three games on the road. MSUM will have just two home games between now and Jan. 24, as the next seven-of-nine games will be on the road. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are 76-62 when playing on the road, which is a 55 percent win percentage. In all-time matchups with UMary, MSUM holds a slight lead at 16-15. UMary won the last matchup with the Dragons on Feb. 23, 2019, winning 83-63. Against Minot State, the Dragons are 29-11 all-time. In their last meeting on Feb. 22, 2019, the Dragons took down the Beavers 93-78.
 
On the Horizon
Following the road games against UMary and Minot State, the Dragons go on the road again. MSUM travels to Aberdeen, S.D., on Dec. 21 to take on Northern State at 6 p.m. The Dragons won their last matchup with the Wolves on Nov. 30, winning 81-74.