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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (11-7, 7-5 NSIC) returns home to begin a four-game homestand. The Dragons take on Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with St. Cloud State the next day at 5:30 p.m. 
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a weekend sweep, winning both games by double-digits. MSUM took down Wayne State 82-71 on Jan. 17. MSUM won the next day against Augustana 78-68. The Dragons are now 5-3 on the road this season.
 
In the win over Wayne State, MSUM shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc compared to 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three for the Wildcats. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons in both points and rebounds with 24 points and nine rebounds. Freshman forward Jack Rusch finished with a career-high 20 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga scored 10 points and added four assists. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld finished with nine points.
 
In the win over Augustana, MSUM shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from beyond the arc compared to 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the field and 20 percent (5-of-25) from three for Augustana. MSUM's bench outscored Augustana's 23-5. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons with 23 points and also pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 17 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams added 10 points and also led the Dragons on the glass with eight rebounds. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench for MSUM.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota Duluth is 14-4 overall this season and 9-3 in the NSIC. The Bulldogs are coming off a 101-92 win over Concordia-St. Paul. UMD has won five of their last six games. In the win over the Golden Bears, the Bulldogs shot 48.2 percent from the field and 56 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Drew Blair led the offense with 33 points. Senior forward Brandon Myer scored 31 points, pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, dished out six assists, and recorded three steals. Myer leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 21.1 points per game. He also leads the Bulldogs on the glass with 9.2 rebounds per game. Blair averages 16.4 points per game, and senior forward Alex Illikainen averages 13.7 points per game along with 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State is currently 10-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play. The Huskies are coming off a 95-83 loss to Minnesota State. SCSU's last win came against Concordia-St. Paul, where they won 100-90. In the win over the Golden Bears, the Huskies shot 46 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three. Junior guard Ilya Tyrthshnik led the way with 26 points and also pulled down six rebounds. Senior guard Trevon Marshall scored 25 points, dished out nine assists, and also had six rebounds. Freshman guard Anthony Roberts had a double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Marshall leads the Huskies in points and assists this season with 21.2 points per game and 4.9 assists per game.
 
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 15.9 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting while Irsfeld is averaging 13.6 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 68.8 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 90.8 percent (59-of-65). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga has 2.9 assists per games.
 
Beeninga Bounces Ahead
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. With 18 points over the weekend, Beeninga surpassed Pete Lysaker for 32^nd all-time. Beeninga sits at 1,041 career-points, which puts him just nine points behind Jim Bowen for 31^st all-time.
 
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 11-7 overall and are looking to continue their two-game win streak this weekend at home against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Dragons return home for the first time since Jan. 4 for a four-game homestand. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are 118-49, which is a win percentage of 70.6 percent. In all-time matchups with Minnesota Duluth, the Dragons are 44-81. In their previous meeting last season on Feb. 16, the Dragons lost at home 78-76. In all-time matchups with St. Cloud State, the Dragons are 47-85. In their previous meeting last season on Feb. 15, the Dragons lost at home 94-88. 
 
On the Horizon
Following the home games against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State, the Dragons continue their four-game homestand. MSUM hosts Minnesota State University-Mankato on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.  The Dragons face-off with Concordia-St. Paul the next day at 5:30 p.m.