ABERDEEN, S.D. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team cut a 16-point second half deficit to six in the final minute but came up short against No. 2 Northern State on Friday night, losing 90-83 in Aberdeen, S.D.

MSUM (8-3, 8-1 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North) saw an eight-game winning streak end with the loss while Northern State improved to 15-0 overall and 13-0 in the north.
 

Balanced Attack

Four Dragons reached double figures, led by senior forward Gatdoar Kueth with 15 points. Junior guard Bryce Irsfeld and sophomore forward Dane Zimmer had 14 points each while junior guard Gavin Baumgartner had 13 points.

Zimmer had seven rebounds while Baumgartner had four assists. 

Further Inside the Numbers

MSUM shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the field compared to 56.1 percent (37-of-66) for the Wolves. Northern State had a 40-35 edge in rebounds. 

The Dragons hit 22-of-31 foul shots and got the Wolves in foul trouble. Northern hit 11-of-17 foul shots.

Junior post Parker Fox had a big game for the Wolves, collecting 39 points and 16 rebounds. 

Late Rally

MSUM was down by as many as 16 in the second half but chipped away at the lead, and closed the gap to 87-81 over freshman Reid Gastner got a steal and bucket with 57 seconds left. The Dragons were down seven and had a three-point attempt to draw closer but it wouldn't fall and got no closer the rest of the way.

Good Start

MSUM led 14-7 with 15:20 left in the first half which was the Dragons' largest lead of the night. Kueth had nine points during that run while Zimmer had five. The Wolves responded with a 12-0 run to take the lead that they would maintain the rest of the half.

Up Next

The two teams rematch at 4 p.m. tomorrow in Aberdeen, S.D.