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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (16-10, 12-8 NSIC) returns home this weekend. The Dragons are set to host Minot State on Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. The next day, MSUM hosts UMary at 5:30 p.m.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a weekend split. MSUM took down St. Cloud State 74-63 on Feb. 14. The Dragons lost the next day at Minnesota Duluth 99-86.
 
In the win over St. Cloud, MSUM shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the field and 41.7 percent (5-of-12). Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld led the Dragons with 15 points. Irsfeld also added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams scored 14 for the Dragons, while also grabbing five rebounds and adding three steals. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out a team-high five assists. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored 10 points and led the Dragons on the glass with nine rebounds. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga finished with 12 points.
 
In the loss to Minnesota Duluth, MSUM shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field and 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc. Baumgartner led the Dragons with 26 points. Baumgartner also had team-highs in rebounds and assists with seven and four, respectively. Irsfeld scored 15 points. Beeninga had 14 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Joe Sevlie scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Williams scored 11 points as well.
 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Minot State
Minot State is 10-16 overall this season and 4-16 in the NSIC. The Beavers are currently riding a five-game losing streak. Minot State lost to Minnesota Crookston 80-69 last Friday and to Bemidji State 73-65 on Saturday. In the loss to Bemidji State, the Beavers shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from three. Senior guard Kyle Beisch led with 30 points. Senior forward Trevor Rothstein added 14 points, while junior forward Kody Dwyer scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Beisch leads the Beavers in scoring this season with 20 points per game. Junior guard Max Cody is averaging 15.5 points per game. Dwyer leads Minot State on the glass with 5.4 rebounds per game. Cody leads the team in assists with 6.5 assists per game.
 
UMary
UMary is currently 11-15 overall and 6-14 in conference play. The Marauders are coming off two losses last weekend, falling to Bemidji State 82-53 on Friday and Minnesota Crookston 68-62 on Saturday. In the loss to Minnesota Crookston, UMary shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the field and 20 percent (3-of-15) from three. Junior forward Matthew Kreklow led with 18 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Jaylan White scored 14 points for the Marauders. Kreklow leads the Marauders this season with 14.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. White is averaging 11.8 points per game and a team-high 3.7 assists per game.

More About MSUM…
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 17.7 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting and a team-best 42.6 percent (52-of-122) from three. Irsfeld is averaging 12.4 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 66.4 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 89.2 percent (74-of-83). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga leads with 3.0 assists per games.  

 
Beeninga Bounces Up
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. Averaging 13 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over the weekend helped Beeninga earn MSUM/Courtyard by Marrriot Athlete of the Week. Beeninga's 26 points over the weekend also helped him climb even higher on the all-time scoring list. Beeninga now has 1,123 career points, which puts him ahead of Jim Jahr for 29th all-time. Beeninga is just 10 points behind the 28th spot, and just 15 points behind the 26^th spot.
 
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 16-10 overall and will battle NSIC opponents Minot State and UMary at home this weekend.
 
Home at Last
The Dragons are set to play their last regular season home games of the 2019-20 season. MSUM has not been at home since Feb. 1. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are a dominant 121-50 overall, which is a win percentage of 70.7 percent. Against NSIC opponents, the Dragons are 83-47, which is a win percentage of 63.8 percent. In all-time matchups with Minot State, the Dragons are 30-11. In their previous meeting this season on Dec. 13, the Dragons won 79-78 on the road. In all-time matchups with UMary, the Dragons are 17-15. In their previous meeting this season on Dec. 14, the Dragons won on the road 79-76.      
 
On the Horizon
Following the home games against Minot State and UMary, the Dragons will be set for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Feb. 26. The time and location are currently to be determined.