MOORHEAD, Minn. — A strong start from junior guard Lorenzo McGhee combined with a dominant first-half defensive effort helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team roll to a 70-50 win over Bemidji State Friday night at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn. 

MSUM won its third straight, improving to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC North. Bemidji State fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the league.  Coach Tim Bergstraser filled in during Friday's win for Head Coach Chad Walthall who was unable to be in attendance.

McGhee Keys First Half

McGhee had a big first-half for MSUM, scoring 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He buried a pair of 3-pointers, on his way to a season-high 21 points. 

Further Inside the Numbers

Balanced scoring paced MSUM as five players scored eight points or more, led by McGhee's 21. Junior guard Bryce Irsfeld had 11 points while junior guard Gavin Baumgartner had 10 points. Baumgartner is now seven points away from 1,000 for his career.

Sophomore forward Dane Zimmer had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds for MSUM. Four players had two assists while redshirt freshman guard Jacob Beeninga had four steals.

MSUM finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) compared to 34.1 percent (15-of-44) for the Beavers. MSUM had a slight 36-35 edge in the second half. 

Slow Start, Then a Big Warm Up

MSUM went nearly four minutes before scoring to open the game and opened 1-of-6 from the field. Bemidji State led 6-0 at one point. After the 1-for-6 start, MSUM caught fire from the field, finishing 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) over the final 14 minutes of the half.  After trailing 6-0, MSUM outscored Bemidji State 42-16 to take a commanding 20-point lead into half.

MSUM shot 57.1 percent in the first half compared 

Turned Over

A big difference in the first half was turnovers. MSUM forced 12 Bemidji turnovers and had a 16-5 edge in points off turnovers in the first half.

Lead Grew to 31

MSUM opened the second half on a 15-4 run to push the lead to 57-26 with 11:19 left. That run was capped by a three-point play by freshman guard Gabe Myren, who had a career-high eight points. 

Up Next

The two teams rematch on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Nemzek Fieldhouse.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game

Tonight marked the first time that the Dragons have played on this date since beating the University of Sioux Falls 78-55 five years ago.