MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead men's basketball will return to the road for their final weekend of non-conference competition following the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dragons will travel to Michigan for a pair of noon tilts with Northern Michigan (Saturday) and Michigan Tech (Sunday).

Live stats and video will be available at msumdragons.com. Live video will be streamed through FloHoops, which is a pay-per-view service. 

Opening Tip

Quick Hits... MSUM has won the last two meetings with Northern Michigan as the programs have not played since November 17. 2017 in Moorhead, an 84-68 Dragon win. The last meetup with the Huskies came the following day as MSUM defeated Michigan Tech 89-82 in overtime. All three programs have significant history with one another as both Michigan schools were once NIC (now NSIC) member universities.

Care For A Grand...Junior guard Jacob Beeninga and senior forward Dane Zimmer each ecllipsed the 1,000 career point mark on consecutive days last weekend in Rapid City, S.D. Zimmer began the stretch with a slam dunk to earn his milestone point on Friday evening. Beeninga followed suit on Saturday night, hitting a deep three-pointer for his 1,000th point. Beeninga averaged 20.5 points for the Dragons across the weekend, including 15 made free throws. The junior was named to the NSIC's weekly 'Shining Five' for his performances. 

The Price Is Right...transfer guard Jamir Price has had a solid start to his Dragon career as the Rock Island, Ill., native is averaging 12.8 points per game in MSUM's four contests. This past weekend in the Black Hills, Price had back-to-back double figure scoring games, netting 15 points against SD Mines and another 16 points against Black Hills State. Price made three three-point field goals against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday and shot 60 percent from deep for the weekend. 

Slim Reaper Sighting...Junior center Jacob Jennissen turned in his first career double-double for MSUM against Black Hills State on Saturday. The Colorado State transfer scored 11 points and nabbed 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action on Saturday. Jennissen had scored just 12 points total in MSUM's previous three matchups. The Sauk Centre, Minn., native shot 57.1 percent from the floor against the Yellow Jackets and has an impressive 64.3 percent success rate on field goal attempts this season. 

Hard-Nosed Myren...Junior guard Gabe Myren has begun to round into form following some extended time away from the floor at the end of last season. Myren poured in 13 points on five of nine shooting against Black Hills State on Saturday night. Myren also showcased his on-ball defensive skills as he would collect three steals in the win. The Blaine, Minn., native has a career-best of five steals in a game, which he accomplished on February 12, 2022 against Bemidji State.

Let's Get Stingy...MSUM has the 14th-best turnover margin in the country at this point in the season. On the other hand, Northern Michigan has taken care of the ball so far this season with a top-40 assist to turnover ratio.

Air Tight Defense Needed...Michigan Tech offers up one of the nation's top scorers so far this season in sophomore guard Marcus Tomashek. The Green Bay, Wis., native enters the week with the fourth-highest points per game average in Division II as he pours in 27.4 points a contest. Tomashek had a career-best 33 points in 32 minutes in Michigan Tech's 83-75 win over Missouri-St. Louis on November 18. The sophomore is shooting over 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep at this point of the young season.

Tim Bergstraser is in his second season as MSUM's head men's basketball coach. 

Scouting Northern Michigan

Northern Michigan is out to a 3-3 start to their season with wins over Upper Iowa, Lubbock Christian and Lakeland. On the flipside, the Wildcats have dropped games to Southeastern Oklahoma State, Missouri S&T and Concordia, St. Paul. They will match up for a home game with Hillsdale before playing the Dragons on Saturday. The Wildcats are led by sophomore forward Dylan Kuehl, who averages 16.2 points per game. Four other Wildcats are averaging in double figures so far this year as well. Junior guard Brian Parzych and sophomore guard Max Weisbrod combine to score an average of 28.5 points per game. 

Matt Majkrzak is in his fifth season as head coach of Northern Michigan. 

Scouting Michigan Tech

The Huskies are out to a 1-2 start which included them dropping their first two games to Missouri S&T and Upper Iowa. Michigan Tech would rally to defeat Missouri-St. Louis to earn their first victory of the season. They are led by fabulous sophomore guard Marcus Tomashek, who is fourth in Division II in scoring so far in 2023-24. Tomashek averages 27.4 points a contest followed by Adam Hobson, who puts in 12 points a game for the Huskies. Michigan Tech will meet up with fellow NSIC member school St. Cloud State on Tuesday night before meeting up with the Dragons at home. 

Josh Buettner is in his third season at the helm of Michigan Tech men's hoops.