Men's Basketball | 12/4/2019 2:06:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (5-2, 1-0 NSIC) continues the final games of their seven-game homestand against Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State. The Dragons take on the Golden Eagles on Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Bemidji State on Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are currently on a five-game win streak. MSUM took down Northern State 81-74 last Saturday to start off 1-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
 
In the win over Northern State, MSUM shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field and 50 percent (5-of-10) from beyond the arc. The Wolves shot 44.1 percent (30-of-68) from the field and 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from three. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons in scoring with a season high 26 points. Baumgartner also led the Dragons on the glass with seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 19 for the Dragons while also dishing out four assists. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga had 11 points. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer put up nine points and grabbed six rebounds, and junior forward Kaedrick Williams scored eight and pulled down six rebounds.
 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Minnesota-Crookston
Minnesota-Crookston is currently 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC. UMC is currently riding a three-game win streak. Recent notable wins for the Golden Eagles include a 16-point win over Bemidji State on Nov. 21 and a 25-point win over Sioux Falls on Nov. 26. The Golden Eagles are led by senior guard Harrison Cleary, who is averaging 28.6 points per game and 4.8 assists this season. Sophomore Brian Sitzmann and senior Malcolm Cohen follow with 13.1 points per game and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Senior forward Javier Nicolau leads UMC on the glass with six rebounds per game. In the win over Sioux Falls, UMC shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field and 44 percent (11-of-25) from beyond the arc. Cleary led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 40 points and also added six assists. Sitzmann scored 20 points and Cohen added 12. Cleary has scored over 20 points in all but one matchup this season.
 
Bemidji State
Bemidji State is 3-2 overall this season and 0-1 in the NSIC. BSU is coming off a 72-66 win over Eckerd College. The Beavers lost their first NSIC game this season against Minnesota-Crookston 88-72. In that loss, the Beavers shot 37.7 percent (26-of-39) from the field and 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from three. Senior guard Ja Morgan led BSU with 18 points. Morgan also dished out a team-high seven assists and pulled down six rebounds. Junior forward Derek Thompson scored 10 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss. The Beavers are led this season by junior guard Nick Wagner who is averaging 19.2 points per game. Morgan is averaging 15.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds.
 
 
MORE ABOUT MSUM…
 
Fifth in Preseason Poll
The Dragons have been picked to finish fifth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference according to a preseason polling of the league's coaches. MSUM received 169 points in the poll. The Dragons are also picked to finish third in the NSIC North Division behind Minnesota Duluth and Northern State. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga was listed as MSUM's player to watch. Beeninga averaged 10.9 points and 2.5 assists per game last season and scored in double figures in 18 games last season.
 
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 5-2 overall and look to continue their five-game win streak this weekend against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.
 
Milestone Watch
Senior guard Johnny Beeninga is currently 37 points away from hitting the 1,000-career point mark. Head coach Chad Walthall is four games away from his 200th career win as head coach of the Dragons.
 
Dragon's Den
MSUM is about to conclude a seven-game homestand. The Dragons are at home from Nov. 14-Dec 7. History shows that the Dragons play well with home-court advantage, as they are currently 117-46 at home since the 2008-09 season. The Dragons have played well at home against conference opponents. Against conference foes, MSUM is 81-43 all time, with the most recent win coming against Northern State last Saturday.

On the Horizon
Following the home games against Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State, the Dragons head on the road. MSUM travels to Bismarck, N.D., on Dec. 13 to take on UMary at 7:30 p.m. The next day, the Dragons go to Minot, N.D., to take on Minot State.