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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (17-11, 13-9 NSIC) will open the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament at home. The Dragons are set to host Wayne State (Neb.) on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. The Dragons are the third seed in the NSIC North division while the Wildcats are the sixth seed in the NSIC South division. The winner advances to the second round to take on either Upper Iowa or UMary at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a weekend split. MSUM took down Minot State 75-55 on Feb. 21. The Dragons lost the next day at home against UMary 75-69.
 
In the win over Minot State, MSUM shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field and 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from beyond the arc. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga led the Dragons in points with 21 and also led in assists with six. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner scored 11 points and dished out four assists. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams had five points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore center Jesse Bergh scored 11 points off the bench for the Dragons.
 
In the loss to Minnesota Duluth, MSUM shot 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field and 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from beyond the arc. Beeninga led the Dragons across the board with 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Baumgartner and sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld each added 12 points for MSUM. Junior forward Joe Sevlie scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds. Zimmer added nine points.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Wayne State
Wayne State is 10-21 overall and 7-15 in the NSIC. The Wildcats are currently riding a six-game losing streak. This season, Wayne State has struggled on the road, going 3-10 in the regular season. To close the regular season, Wayne State fell on the road to Sioux Falls 75-64. In the loss, the Wildcats shot 54.3 percent (25-of-46) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three. Sophomore forward Jordan Janssen led the team with 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Al'Tavius Jackson scored 15 points, while sophomore guard Nick Ferrarini had 10 points. Janssen leads the Wildcats this season with 17.1 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game. Ferrarini is averaging 14.3 points per game, while Jackson is averaging 10.5 points per game.
 
More About the Dragons...
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 17.3 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting and a team-best 40.5 percent (53-of-131) from three. Irsfeld is averaging 12.2 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 65.1 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 88.5 percent (77-of-87). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga leads with 3.3 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. Beeninga's 34 points over the weekend also helped him climb even higher on the all-time scoring list. Beeninga now has 1,157 career points, which launched him from 29^th to 26^th all-time. Beeninga is also sixth all-time in assists. With 268 career assists, Beeninga is just three assists away from the number five spot on the all-time list.
 
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 17-11 overall and will battle Wayne State in the first round of the NSIC tournament on Wednesday.
 
Home Court Advantage
The Dragons are set to open the NSIC tournament at home. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are a dominant 122-51 overall, which is a win percentage of 70.5 percent. Against NSIC opponents, the Dragons are 84-48, which is a win percentage of 63.6 percent. In all-time matchups with Wayne State, the Dragons are 13-20. In their previous meeting this season on Jan. 17, the Dragons won 82-71 on the road.
 
On the Horizon
The Dragons must survive to advance in the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament. If the Dragons beat Wayne State, they will play the winner of the Upper Iowa/UMary matchup at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Tip-off begins at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29. The Dragons are 17-16 against UMary in all-time matchups. MSUM fell at home against UMary 75-69 on Feb. 22. MSUM beat Upper Iowa at home 98-84 in January thanks to 22-point efforts from Kaedrick Williams and Gavin Baumgartner.