MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team cut an eight-point deficit to two in the final minute but came up short in a 74-68 loss at Minnesota State-Mankato Friday night in Mankato, Minn.
 
MSUM fell to 10-10 overall and 5-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Minnesota State improved to 11-6 overall and 5-6 in the league.
 
Junior guard Gavin Baumgartner led MSUM with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also leading with seven rebounds, four assists and three stelas.  Junior forward Jaden Stanley-Williams had 13 points off the bench while junior guard Lorenzo McGhee had 12 points. Senior forward Gatdoar Kueth had 10 points.
 
MSUM shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) compared to 50 percent (30-of-60) for the Mavericks. Minnesota State had a 40-39 edge in rebounds, but MSUM had a big edge at the line, hitting 18-of-25 foul shots compared to 7-of-12 for the Mavericks.
 
The game was close from start to finish with the biggest lead being eight points. The Mavericks led 66-58 with 2:11 left but back-to-back threes from Kueth and Stanley-Williams cut the gap to 66-64 with 1:24 left.
 
The Dragons got with two on two more occasions in the final minute but were unable to tie the game. MSU hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 24 seconds to make the final score 74-68.
 
The first half was close the whole way. A three-point play from freshman guard Gabe Myren put the Dragons up 27-25 with 3:08 left; Minnesota State snuck ahead in the final minutes to take a 34-32 lead into halftime.
 
The Dragons cut an eight-point deficit to two in the second half as McGhee hit a jump shot with 5:52 left to make it 58-56. The Dragons would trail again by cut the lead to two in the final minute before falling short.
 
Myren added seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
MSUM plays at Concordia-St. Paul at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.