RAPID CITY, S.D. – Senior bigman
Dane Zimmer scored his 1,000th career point as MSU Moorhead men's basketball held on to a late lead to open the East-West Challenge. The Dragons edged South Dakota Mines, 69-67.
Coming into the contest,
Dane Zimmer was just a basket shy of 1,000 for his Dragon career. MSUM opted to get the milestone out of the way early as
Jamir Price dished a pass to a cutting Zimmer on the first possession of the game. The senior slammed home a dunk to reach the career milestone. Zimmer would strike again as part of a 9-5 MSUM run to begin the contest.
Midway through the first half, MSUM utilized a 9-0 run to lead 19-12.
Gabe Myren scored back-to-back baskets followed by an and-one from
Ja'Kair Sanchez to highlight the stretch. Sanchez would seal off his defender a few possessions later and hit a turnaround jumper to make it 11 straight for MSUM. The Dragon defense was tight throughout the run, holding South Dakota Mines to a two of seven mark from three to that point.
Sanchez would continue to have the hot hand as he would take a dribble to his left. The junior would catch his defender with a sweep through, getting fouled as he hurled up an off balance shot. The shot was drained, as was the ensuing free throw to bring Sanchez's total to 11 points.
Jacob Jennissen would earn a putback lay in to put the Dragon lead into double figures (26-16).
Jamir Price would score back-to-back times to put the lead at 14 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
Before the break, South Dakota Mines would go on a 9-0 run of their own to trim the Dragon lead to five points.
Jacob Beeninga would score five straight points, but the teams entered the break with the Dragons leading 39-34. Sanchez led MSUM with 11 points followed by Beeninga's 10. The Dragons would lead despite shooting two of 10 from long range in the half. Luckily, the Hardrockers also struggled from deep, connecting on 27.3 percent of their attempts through 20 minutes. MSUM connected on nine of 10 free throws in the frame to help bolster the advantage.
Beeninga opened the second half with a pair of long three-point shots with one being from inside the Hardrocker logo. The junior had netted four of five triples to that point in the game and sat just 12 points away from 1,000 for his career. Another basket from Beeninga would help push the Dragon lead back into double figures, 54-40. MSUM shot 50 percent from the floor through the first seven minutes of play.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, MSUM led 58-47 as
Dane Zimmer received the ball on a lovely inbound play for a wide-open lay-up. Zimmer would strike again on another inbound play on the next possession. The senior collected his 14
th career double-double in the contest, including three offensive rebounds.
Jamir Price and Zimmer would continue to keep the Dragons out in front as time kept ticking. South Dakota Mines was able to convert on some difficult shot attempts, but with just over five minutes remaining, MSUM led 66-58. A lapse in transition helped the Hardrockers cut the deficit to three with a 5-0 run out of a timeout.
South Dakota Mines would get the count to 69-67 in favor of MSUM with 45 seconds remaining. The Hardrockers would force a Dragon turnover on the ensuing possession to get the ball back with 25 seconds left. MSUM would force a miss, but possession would remain with the Hardrockers under the basket with 3.6 on the clock.
Gabe Myren would knock the ball to the sidelines as the Hardrockers had one last shot attempt. A shot near the basket rimmed out with time expiring. MSUM sighed a breath of relief in the 69-67 victory.
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Up Next
The Dragons (3-0) are right back at it again tomorrow evening in Rapid City for a 6 p.m. tilt with Black Hills State.
