CROOKSTON Minn., — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team outscored Minnesota Crookston 52-31 in the second half to earn a 91-68 road win over the Golden Eagles in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division action Friday night in Crookston, Minn.

MSUM improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC North with the win while UMC fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the division. 

Beeninga, Zimmer Lead the Way

Redshirt freshman guard Jacob Beeninga continues his torrid start to the season. He had a career-high 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench and hit 3-of-5 from three-point range.  

Sophomore forward Dane Zimmer had a big night as well, going 10-of-11 from the field on his way to a career-high 21 points. 

Further Inside the Numbers

Senior guard Gatdoar Kueth also played well off the bench, scoring 17 points while also leading with five rebounds. Junior guard Bryce Irsfeld had 11 points and hit 3-of-6 from downtown. 

Junior guard Lorenzo McGhee had a game-high four steals while Irsfeld and junior guard Siman Sem had four assists each.

MSUM shot only 39 percent in the first half but caught fire in the second, shooting 69.2 percent (18-of-26).  For the game the Dragons shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) while UMC shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56).

Bench Rises to the Occasion

Thanks to big nights from Beeninga and Kueth, the MSUM bench outscored UMC by a 48-14 margin.

Second Half Surge

MSUM led 39-37 at halftime and held a 62-56 lead with 10:07 remaining. Over the final 10 minutes, however, the Dragons outscored the Golden Eagles 29-12 to push the lead to 91-68. Zimmer and Irsfeld were catalysts down the stretch for MSUM with eight points apiece during that run. 

Up Next

The two teams rematch at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Crookston.