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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (18-11, 13-9 NSIC) have advanced to the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament. The Dragons are set to play Upper Iowa on Feb. 29 at 2:30 p.m. at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Dragons are the third seed in the NSIC North division while the Peacocks are the second seed in the NSIC South division. The winner advances to the semifinals to take on either Northern State (N1) or Augustana (S4) at the Pentagon.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a first-round NSIC tournament win. MSUM took down Wayne State (Neb.) 69-65 on Feb. 26. The Wildcats were the sixth-seed in the south division.
 
In the win over Wayne State, MSUM shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons in scoring with 21 points. Baumgartner also led the Dragons on the glass with nine rebounds. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored 14 points and also pulled down eight rebounds. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams had 11 points, six rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 14 points off the bench.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Upper Iowa
Upper Iowa is 19-10 overall and 15-7 in the NSIC. In their last game of the regular season, the Peacocks lost to Concordia-St. Paul (S7) on the road. In the first round of the NSIC tournament, Upper Iowa beat UMary (N7) at home 80-64. In the win, freshman guard Lucas Doax led the Peacocks with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Junior guard Joe Smoldt scored 17 points, while freshman guard Jake Hilmer scored 12 points and dished out four assists. Junior Jareese Williams averages 13.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Smoldt averages 12.7 points per game, while Hilmer averages 12.2 points per game. Duax averages 9.4 points per game. In all-time matchups with Upper Iowa, the Dragons are 15-9. In their last meeting this season on Jan. 4, the Dragons won 98-84 at home thanks to 22 points from both Baumgartner and Williams.

NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals Viewing Party
The Dragon Fire Booster Club will host a viewing party for the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team's tournament game vs. Upper Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Moorhead.

Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 17.4 points per game on 51.0 percent shooting and a team-best 40.8 percent (58-of-142) from three. Irsfeld is averaging 12.3 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 66.2 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 88.2 percent (82-of-93). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga leads with 3.2 assists per games.  

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 18-11 overall and will battle Upper Iowa in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament on Saturday.
 
On the Horizon
The Dragons must survive to advance in the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament. If the Dragons beat Upper Iowa, they will play the winner of the Northern State/Augustana matchup. Tip-off for the semifinal game begins at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, March 2. The winner of that game advances to the championship round, which will be played on Tuesday, March 3, at 5 p.m. The Dragons are 40-67 against Northern State in all-time matchups. MSUM fell on the road against Northern 95-64 on Dec. 21. The Dragons won their first matchup of the season with the Wolves on Nov. 30, beating Northern State at home 81-74. MSUM is 4-21 all-time against Augustana. In their last matchup, the Dragons won 78-68 on the road against the Vikings on Jan. 18.
 
Semifinals
The winner of the quarterfinal's matchup between MSUM and Upper Iowa to go on and play Northern State or Augustana. Northern State (N1) won their first-round matchup at home against Southwest Minnesota State (S8) 79-67. The Wolves are 23-6 overall and 18-4 in the NSIC. In the win, Sophomore guard Mason Stark led the way with 27 points. Stark was a perfect 9-9 from the field, 2-2 from three, and 7-7 from the free throw line. Senior guard Gabe King scored 20 points, while Tommy Chatman put up 12 points. NSIC Defensive Player of the Year winner and sophomore forward Parker Fox scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and recorded four blocks. Fox leads with 19.7 points per game and 8.9 rebounds a game. Stark averages 15.3 points per game while King averages 12.1 points per game.
 
Augustana (S4) is 19-10 overall and 13-9 in the NSIC. Augie beat St. Cloud State (N5) in their first-round matchup at home. Sophomore forward Michael Schaefer led Augie with 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Sophomore guard Dylan LeBrun scored 12 points. Three other Augie starters added 11 points each. Matt Cartwright leads with 16 points per game. Schaefer and sophomore forward Tyler Riemersma each average 13.7 points per game. Riemersma averages 8.5 rebounds per game.