Game Notes
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (18-10, 12-8 NSIC) is on the road for their final regular-season Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games as they face Minot State and University of Mary.
HOW TO FOLLOW…
Stats (Minot): https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video (Minot): https://portal.stretchinternet.com/minotstate/
Stats (Mary): https://goumary.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video (Mary): https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umary/
THIS WEEK…
MSUM will conclude the regular-season on the road as they face Minot State University on Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. and University of Mary on Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m.
LOOKING BACK…
The Dragons were 0-2 last week after facing St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth at home. In the 94-88 loss to SCSU senior forward
Addison Park recorded a team-best 26 points. Senior guard
Travaun Coad followed with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman guard SIman Sem recorded 12 points and three steals. The Dragons shot 54.4 percent (37-of-68) from the field compared to 60.7 percent (37-of-61) for the Huskies. The Huskies outrebounded the Dragons 32-27.
MSUM faced another tough opponent the following night as they fell to Minnesota Duluth in a nail biter by a score of 78-76. Coad had 20 points and six rebounds while Sem recorded 18 points and five steals. Park had 15 points and three rebounds on the night. MSUM shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field compared to 49.2 percent (29-of-59) for UMD. UMD outrebounded MSUM 34-29.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Minot State
The Beavers are 14-15 overall, 9-11 in the NSIC, and are enjoying a four-game winning streak. Last week Minot State defeated Minnesota Crookston (68-61) and Bemidji State (79-76). David Akibo averaged 19.5 points per game and 12 rebounds per game with two double-doubles last week. Kyle Beisch scored 17.5 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range. Akibo and Beisch average 19.0 and 14.4 points per game this season. Akibo averages 8.3 rebound per game while Dorian Aluyi follows with 5.1 per game. Max Cody leads the team by averaging 5.9 assists per game. The Beavers rank second in the conference in field goal percentage (49.7) and have narrowly outscored the opposition 72.9-72.3. MSUM defeated Minot State by a score of 91-86 in December
University of Mary
The Marauders are 11-15 overall and 8-12 in the NSIC after falling to Bemidji State (70-47) and Minnesota Crookston (72-60) last week. Jaylan White led the team with 22 points and three steals against Minnesota Crookston. Matthew Kreklow scored 17 points and had three blocks at UMC. White has averaged 13.7 points per game this season, while Kreklow and Tom Kubank follow by averaging 11.7 and 11.2 points per game. Kreklow leads the team by averaging 5.7 rebounds per game and Dennis Austin III has averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in 23 games. The Marauders average 6.7 steals per game compared to 5.5 from the opposition. U-Mary ranks third in the NSIC in steals per game. MSUM fell to U-Mary by a score of 78-73 in December.
MORE ABOUT MSUM…
Consistency from Seniors
This year's senior class has been a steady presence on the court throughout the season. With seven freshmen on the roster, the seniors are relied on for their leadership and experience.
Addison Park is enjoying his most productive season, scoring in double-figures in 25 games and averaging 16.1 points per game.
Travaun Coad has scored in double-digits in 22 games and averages 15.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Jake Johnson and
Briton Bussman average 4.2 and 2.7 points per game, respectively.
Freshmen Shine
Several freshmen have been threats on the court this season. Freshman guard
Gavin Baumgartner averages 13.7 points per game and has come up clutch for the Dragons with a career-high 28 points in wins over Bemidji State and Minot State. Freshman guard
Bryce Irsfeld set a career-high with 26 points in a win over Concordia-St. Paul. Irsfeld averages 11.2 points per game and is 56-of-58 from the free-throw line. Freshman guard
Siman Sem has averaged 6.8 points per game, a team-high 1.2 steals per game, and has started 20 games. Freshman center
Jesse Bergh averages 4.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and .9 blocks per game. Freshmen have contributed 43.2 percent of the team's total points this season.
Offensive Distribution
There has been no shortage of offense this season, and the points are coming from a variety of players on the court. MSUM leads the conference in scoring offense by averaging 87.2 points per game and shooting 51.6 percent from the field. The Dragons have five players who average 11.2+ points per game:
Addison Park (16.1),
Travaun Coad (15.2),
Gavin Baumgartner (13.7),
Johnny Beeninga (11.4) and
Bryce Irsfeld (11.2). Park and Coad rank third and fifth in the NSIC in field-goal percentage with .558 and .544, respectively. MSUM is the only team to have two players in the top five.
NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Looming
This week's competition wraps up the regular-season with the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament First Round set for Feb. 27
th. The top-four teams in each division will host the opening round of the tournament. MSUM is tied with Minnesota Duluth for third place in the North Division with a 12-8 record. The Dragons will remain in the top-four regardless of the outcome this weekend and will host the opening round in Nemzek Fieldhouse. The following rounds will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Sanford Pentagon March 2-5.
All-Time vs. Opponents
MSUM will meet Minot State for the 40
th time and lead the series, 28-11. The Dragons are meeting U-Mary for the 31
st time and lead the all-time series 16-14.
Up Next
MSUM will host the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Feb. 27
th with the opponent TBD.
