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The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team (14-8, 10-6 NSIC) will play their next four games on the road. The Dragons travel to Marshall, Minn., to take on Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The next day, MSUM travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on Sioux Falls at 5:30 p.m.  Sioux Falls currently sits in first place in the NSIC South division. The Dragons are riding a three-game win streak.
 
LOOKING BACK...
The Dragons are coming off a weekend sweep. MSUM took down Minnesota State-Mankato 88-63 on Jan. 31. The Dragons won again the next day against Concordia-St. Paul 85-72.
 
In the win over Minnesota State, MSUM shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three-point land compared to 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field and 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three for Minnesota State. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the way for the Dragons across the board, scoring 23 points, grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds, and dishing out a team-high four assists. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams 16 points and had nine rebounds, freshman forward Jack Rusch scored 11 points. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 13 points off the bench.
 
In the win over Concordia-St. Paul, MSUM shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and 28 percent (7-of-25) from three compared to 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field and 37 percent (10-of-27) from beyond the arc for CSP. Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the offense with 29 points and also added five rebounds. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga scored seven points and dished out a career high seven assists to lead the Dragons. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored 12 points. Bench production was a factor for the Dragons. Sophomore guard Bryce Irsfeld scored 14 points, while junior forward Joe Sevlie scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION…
Southwest Minnesota State
Southwest Minnesota State is 7-15 overall this season and 4-12 in the NSIC. The Mustangs are coming off a weekend split, beating Minnesota Crookston 77-63 on Friday and losing to Bemidji State 78-64 on Saturday. In the loss to the Beavers, SMSU shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from three. Junior guard Nick Dufault led the Mustangs with 27 points. Junior guard Kenny Byers followed with 17 points. Byers is averaging 18.2 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Dufault is averaging 12.7 points per game.
 
Sioux Falls (S.D.)
Sioux Falls is currently 17-12 overall and 13-3 in conference play. Sioux Falls is in first place in the NSIC south. The Cougars are coming off a weekend road sweep, taking down Bemidji State 66-54 on Friday and Minnesota Crookston 77-62 on Saturday. In the win over Minnesota Crookston, the Cougars shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three. Five players scored in double figures for Sioux Falls. Freshman guard Jack Thompson led the way with 23 points. Sophomore Chase Grinde scored 13 points. The Cougar frontcourt dominated the Golden Eagles. Junior forward Teathloach Pal scored 10 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, while junior center Austin Slater also scored 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. The Cougars rely on balanced scoring. Four of their players are averaging in double figures. Grinde is averaging 11.6 points per game, Pal is averaging 11 points per game, Thompson is averaging 10.4 points per game, and Slater is averaging 10 points per game.
 
Statistical Leaders
Sophomore guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 17.2 points per game on 49.8 percent shooting while Irsfeld is averaging 12.9 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 70.7 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line, Irsfeld is 90.7 percent (68-of-75). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga leads with 3.4 assists per games. 
 
Baumgartner's Breakout
Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner's performance last weekend earned him NSIC North Player of the Week honors. This was the first weekly honor of Baumgartner's career. Baumgartner averaged 26.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over the weekend. In the win over Minnesota State-Mankato, Baumgartner recorded his first double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Baumgartner also added four assists, which made him MSUM's points, rebounds, and assists leader for the game. In the win over Concordia-St. Paul, Baumgartner scored 29 points and grabbed five rebounds.
 
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 14-8 overall and are looking to continue their three-game win streak this weekend against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.
 
Road Trippin'
The Dragons are set to play their next four games on the road. Since the 2008-09 season, the Dragons are 81-69 on the road, which is a win percentage of 54 percent. In all-time matchups with Southwest Minnesota State, the Dragons are 58-43. In their previous meeting last season on Feb. 27 in the first round of the NSIC tournament, the Dragons lost at home 86-81. In all-time matchups with Sioux Falls, the Dragons are 10-3. In their previous meeting last season on Feb. 9, the Dragons won at home 75-71.   
 
On the Horizon
Following the road games against SMSU and Sioux Falls, the Dragons head back on the road. MSUM travels to St. Cloud, Minn., to take on St. Cloud State on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The next day, the Dragons travel to Duluth, Minn., to face off with Minnesota Duluth at 5:30 p.m. Those two games will be the last regular season road games before the NSIC tournament.