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.
McKeever Leads the Way
Sophomore guard Mariah McKeever had a season-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting; she hit 3-of-4 from downtown. She had 12 of her points in the second half.
Further Inside the Numbers
Junior forward Peyton Boom had 15 points and a team-best nine rebounds for MSUM while junior center Nicole Brown had 13 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Natalie Steichen had 13 points while senior guard Sarah Jacobson led with six assists.
MSUM shot 33-of-67 (49.3 percent) compared to 24-of-44 (54.5 percent) for UMC. The Dragons had a 34-23 edge in rebounds, including a commanding 14-3 edge on the offensive glass.
Turnovers the Difference
MSUM forced 22 Golden Eagle turnovers, and that led to a 20-9 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Big third quarter
MSUM scored 29 third-quarter points on 61.9 percent (13-of-21) shooting. Boom had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while McKeever had seven and Steichen five. MSUM's biggest lead of the game was 10 points.
More from Motschenbacher
Freshman guard Karley Motschenbacher provided a spark off the bench for MSUM, scoring eight points in 11 minutes of time. She was 4-of-6 from the field.
The 29 points in the third quarter were the most points in a quarter since the Dragons went for 33 in an 89-43 victory over Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 6, 2019.
Up Next
The two teams rematch at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Moorhead, Minn.
