SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team suffered an 81-65 loss to Northern State in the semifinals of the NSIC Sanford Health Tournament semifinals on Monday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

The Dragons finish the season with a 19-12 overall record. Northern State now sits at 25-6 overall and advances to Tuesday's championship game.

MSUM shot 36.9 percent (24-of-65) from the field and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from beyond the arc compared to 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from three for the Wolves. 

Sophomore guard Gavin Baumgartner led the Dragons with 12 points. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga scored 11 points and led MSUM in assists with five. Sophomore center Jesse Bergh had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench. Junior forward Kaedrick Williams finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Freshman forward Dane Zimmer scored nine points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

In the beginning of the first half, the game stayed tightly contested. A layup by Bergh tied the game at 8-8 with 13:25 remaining in the first half. The Wolves responded with a 12-0 run to go up 20-8 with 10:46 remaining. With 6:03 remaining, a Northern State layup gave the Wolves a 31-17 lead. A 13-5 run by the Dragons cut the Northern State lead to just six at 36-30 thanks to two good free throws by Beeninga. With the score 41-30 with 1:05 remaining, two free throws by Williams made it a 41-32 game heading into the half.

In the second half, the Dragons cut into the lead early. A Baumgartner three-pointer followed by a free throw by Zimmer on the next possession cut the lead to just five at 43-38 with 17:55 left on the clock. Northern State would not let the Dragons get closer than that. With 13:15 left in the game, a layup by junior forward Joe Sevlie cut the game to 57-48. The Dragons could not cut the lead to less than single digits from that point on as the Wolves slowly added to the lead on their way to a 16-point win.

The 2019-20 Dragons team finishes the year graduating just one senior. Team captain and senior guard Johnny Beeninga finishes fifth all-time in assists for the Dragons with 276 over the course of his career. Beeninga also ends his career at the 26th spot on the all-time scoring list with 1,194 career points.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons lost their second NSIC tournament semifinal game today in six total attempts. The only other loss was a 70-53 setback at The Pentagon versus Winona State on March 3, 2014.