Game Notes
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (19-11, 13-9 NSIC) is home this week as they play host to Southwest Minnesota State University for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Conference Tournament.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW…
Stats: http://web.mnstate.edu/livestats/basketball/xlive.htm
Video/Audio: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msum/index.htm
 
LOOKING BACK…
MSUM split on the road last week as they defeated Minot State (93-78) and fell to U-Mary (83-63).
 
In the win the Dragons shot 57.4 percent (35-of-61) from the field compared to 50.0 percent (32-of-64) for Minot State. The Dragons outrebounded the Beavers 34-28. Senior guard Addison Park recorded a career-high 30 points after going 12-of-18 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Senior guard Travaun Coad had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman guard SIman Sem recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Gavin Baumgartner led the team with five assists.
 
In the loss to U-Mary the Dragons shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the field compared to 53.4 percent (31-of-58) for the Marauders. Each team recorded 38 rebounds on the night.
 
Baumgartner led the team with 16 points while Coad had a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Wyatt Hanson had nine points on the night. Freshman guard Bryce Irsfeld led the team with three steals.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Southwest Minnesota State University
The Mustangs are 15-13 overall and 10-12 in the NSIC. SMSU fell to Wayne State (Neb.) last week by a score of 86-77 and fell to Augustana (S.D.) by a score of 77-73. SMSU shot 50.0 percent from the field in the loss to Augustana. The Mustangs have outrebounded the opposition just once in the last 17 games. Ryan Bruggeman led the team in scoring last week with 27 points at WSC and 28 at AU. Bruggeman finished the NSIC season leading the league in scoring at 27 points per game. Taylor Schafer and Kenny Byers average 13.3 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Four players average 4.0+ rebounds per game with Braedan Hanson's 4.4 leading the team. Bruggeman is the team leader in assists per game (5.6) and steals per game (2.3). SMSU ranks third in the conference in three-point FG percentage (40.8) and leads the NSIC in free-throw percentage (81.5). The Dragons defeated the Mustangs by a score of 98-79 when the teams met in early February.
 
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 26 games and averaging 16.3 points per game. Travaun Coad has scored in double-digits in 23 games and averages 14.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Jake Johnson and Briton Bussman average 4.4 and 2.6 points per game, respectively.
 
Park Climbs Record-Book
Senior forward Addison Park had 16 points on Jan. 19 and in doing so became the 32^nd Dragons to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Park recorded a career-high 30 points in the win over Minot State last week and now finds himself 23 points away from surpassing Jim Nagel (1958-62) for 24^th place on the 1,000 Point Club list.
 
Freshmen Shine
Several freshmen have been threats on the court this season. Freshman guard Gavin Baumgartner averages 13.6 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 10.9 points per game and is 58-of-60 from the free-throw line. Freshman guard Siman Sem has averaged 6.8 points per game, a team-high 1.1 steals per game, and has started 22 games. Freshman center Jesse Bergh averages 4.2 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and .8 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 86.2 points per game and shooting 51.1 percent from the field. The Dragons have five players who average 10.9+ points per game: Addison Park (16.3), Travaun Coad (14.9), Gavin Baumgartner (13.6), Johnny Beeninga (10.9) and Bryce Irsfeld (10.9). MSUM is the only team in the NSIC to have three players ranked in the top ten in field-goal percentage with Park (.558), Coad (.533), and Baumgartner (.524).
 
NSIC Regular-Season Concludes
Last week wrapped up the regular-season in the NSIC as the Dragons finished with a conference record of 13-9. MSUM ranked fourth in the North Division and eighth overall. MSUM earned a home seed for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship will take place on March 3-5 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

 
All-Time vs. Opponents
MSUM will meet Southwest Minnesota State for the 101^st time and lead the all-time series 58-42. When the teams met previously this season, MSUM won by a score of 98-79.