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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (9-7, 5-5 NSIC) is set for another weekend on the road. The Dragons take on Wayne State on Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with Augustana (S.D.) the next day at 5:30 p.m. 
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a weekend split. MSUM took down Bemidji State 78-75 in overtime on Jan. 10. MSUM lost the next day against Minnesota Crookston 94-61. The Dragons are now 3-3 on the road this season.
 
In the win over Bemidji State, the Dragons shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 35 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the arc compared to 48 percent (28-of-58) from the field and 43 percent (9-of-21) from three. The Dragon bench outscored BSU's bench 36-5. Sophomore guards Siman Sem and Bryce Irsfeld each scored 16 points to lead the Dragons. Freshman forward Jack Rusch scored 13, while sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner scored 11 points. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga scored six points and had a team-high four assists. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer had six points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
 
In the loss to Minnesota Crookston, the Dragons shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field and 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from beyond the arc. Irsfeld led the Dragons with 15 points. Irsfeld also pulled down six rebounds and added three assists. Zimmer scored 14 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. Junior forward Joe Sevlie scored 10 points off the bench. Beeninga added four assists for the Dragons.
 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Wayne State
Wayne State is 6-13 overall this season and 3-7 in the NSIC. The Wildcats are coming off an 80-73 loss to Upper Iowa. Their last win came the night before that loss, as they took down Winona State 102-97 in triple-overtime. In the win over Winona State, the Wildcats shot 48.1 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. Sophomore guard Nick Ferrarini led with 29 points. Sophomore forward Jordan Janssen scored 23 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Sophomore guard Nate Mohr scored 20 points while junior forward Benjamin Dentlinger scored 18 points and eight rebounds. Janssen leads the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game, followed by Ferrarini and Mohr who are averaging 14.5 ppg and 12.2 ppg, respectively. Janssen also leads in rebounds with 10.1 rebounds per game this season.

Augustana
Augustana is currently 11-5 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The Vikings are coming off a 79-65 loss against Winona State. Augustana shot 34.8 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Matt Todd led Augustana with 16 points. Junior forward Tyler Riemersma scored 12 points and posted 10 rebounds. Todd leads the Vikings in scoring with 13.4 points per game. Riemersma is averaging 12 points per game, and sophomore forward Michael Schaefer is averaging 10.1 points per game. Riemersma is leading the team in rebounds with 9.8 rebounds per game, followed by Schaefer who is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game.
 
MORE ABOUT MSUM…
 
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 15 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting while Irsfeld is averaging 13.7 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 67 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 90.9 percent (50-of-55). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 5.8 rebounds per game, followed by sophomore guard Siman Sem who are averaging 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga has 2.9 assists per games. Defensively, Sem leads the team in steals with 1.3 steals per game.
 
Beeninga Breaks Through
Senior guard Johnny Beeninga surpassed 1,000 career-points in the loss to Winona State on Jan. 3. Beeninga became just the 33rd Dragon to hit 1,000 points in the program's history. Beeninga sits at 1,023 total points, which puts him just six points behind Pete Lysaker for 32nd all-time.
 
Walthall's Wins
With a victory over Bemidji State on Jan. 10, head coach Chad Walthall earned his 200th career win as head coach of the Dragons. Walthall became just the second MSUM men's basketball coach to hit the 200-win mark. Walthall also has the second most wins in MSUM men's basketball history, trailing only behind Dave Schellhase, who coached the Dragons to 298 wins from 1975-82 and 1987-98.
 
Run it Back
The 2019-20 Dragons squad features three of their top five scorers from the 2018-19 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 9-7 overall and are looking to grab wins this weekend on the road against Wayne State and Augustana.
 
Road Warriors
The Dragons are set to play their next two games on the road before returning home for a four-game homestand. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are 79-64 when playing on the road, which is a win percentage of 55.2 percent. In all-time matchups with Wayne State, the Dragons are 12-20. In their previous meeting last season on Jan. 18, the Dragons won at home 80-76. In all-time matchups with Augustana, the Dragons are 3-21. In their previous meeting last season on Jan. 19, the Dragons lost at home 87-82.
 
On the Horizon
Following the road games against Wayne State and Augustana, the Dragons return home for four-game homestand. MSUM hosts Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.  The Dragons host St. Cloud State the next day at 5:30 p.m.