MOORHEAD, Minn.—With six Dragons scoring in double figures, the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team took down Upper Iowa 98-84 in action Saturday night at Nemzek Fieldhouse.
MSUM improves to 8-6 overall and 4-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Upper Iowa drops to 7-7 overall and 4-4 in the NSIC.
The Dragons shot 55.4 percent (36-of-65) from the field and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from beyond the arc compared to 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field and 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from three for the Peacocks.
Junior forward
Kaedrick Williams and sophomore guard
Gavin Baumgartner each scored 22 points to lead the Dragons. Williams and Baumgartner also pulled down six rebounds each. Sophomore guard
Siman Sem posted a double-double, scoring 18 points and team-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard
Bryce Irsfeld and freshman forward
Jack Rusch each scored 12 for MSUM. Senior guard
Johnny Beeninga scored 10 points and dished out a team-high five assists.
In a game that featured 11 lead changes and 12 ties, the first half stayed closely contested. Upper Iowa saw their largest lead of the game with 5:52 left in the first half thanks to a 7-0 scoring run by the Peacocks. The Dragons closed the gap, and a driving layup by Beeninga with nine seconds remaining in the first half tied the game 47-47.
The Dragons started the second half strong, going on a 7-0 run in the first 1:40 of the half. MSUM took control of the lead for the remainder of the game, and saw their largest lead come with 0:46 left when they led by 15. The Dragons finished with a 98-84 win.
With the conclusion of this game, the Dragons are set to play the next four games on the road. MSUM travels to Bemidji, Minn., to take on Bemidji State on Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The next day, the Dragons head to Crookston, Minn., to face off against Minnesota Crookston at 5:30 p.m.
Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Tonight marked the first home game on this date since the Dragons' 71-66 win over Minnesota Crookston seven years ago.
