MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The MSU Moorhead Dragons men's basketball team is ready to rock and roll for the start of the new season. The Dragons will begin the season by taking a big road trip Kansas City, Mo, this weekend. The season will tip off at 1 p.m. on Friday when the Dragons take on Missouri Southern. Then they will battle Washburn University on Sunday at 12 p.m. 

Live stats are available at msumdragons.com
 
Previewing the New Look Dragons

The Dragons had an incredible season last year that saw them reach the NSIC mountain top with a thrilling run through the NSIC Tournament. A 78-77 buzzer beater victory over Bemidji State in the semifinals and a 79-69 victory over Minnesota Duluth brought home the hardware home for the Dragons. This season will bring a lot of new challenges to the Dragons, as their squad has changed quite significantly from the one that won them a conference championship just one season ago. The new look Dragons were picked fourth in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll.

Starting with some familiar faces. Junior guard Jacob Beeninga has earned MSUM's player to watch for the 2023-24 season. Dragons second-year head coach Tim Bergstraser had this to say about Beeninga: "Jacob is one of the most fierce competitors you will come by. He's a young man that we have a lot of trust in as one of our leaders. With his confidence, competitiveness, selflessness and ability to score in multiple ways it has made him a respected player in the NSIC". Beeninga had a fantastic season last year, leading the Dragons in scoring with 561 points. He averaged 17.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. 

Senior forward Dane Zimmer is another big returning piece for the Dragons. He averaged 8.9 rebounds per game, a mark that led the team. He was also a solid scorer for the Dragons on offense, scoring 8.6 points per game, while also tallying 1.1 blocks per game on defense. Gabe Myren, Logan Kinsey and Jordan Johnson are also key factors returning for the Dragons. Myren was first off the bench for the Dragons last season and scored 7.4 points per game. Logan Kinsey was often the X-Factor when the Dragons needed a spark, cutting to the basket and dunking the ball was his specialty last season. Jordan Johnson also showed a lot of promise off the bench last year, he shot 68 percent from the field for 44 points over the course of the season.

The Dragons have some notable new faces as transfers this season as well. Redshirt junior guard Ja'Kair Sanchez transferred in from Roberts Wesleyan University. MSUM also scored two Division I transfers as well in sophomore forward Jacob Jennissen from Colorado State University, and junior guard Jamir Price from Cleveland State. Chris Dixon rounds out the transfer contingent for MSUM, coming to Moorhead from Allen Community College. 

The Dragons are coached by Tim Bergstraser in his second season.
 
Scouting Missouri Southern

The Lions finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 17-13 record. They dropped two games against foes the Dragons are very familiar with: Winona State and Minnesota State at the beginning of their season last year. They averaged 72.9 points per game, while holding their opponents to 69.2 points per game. Funny enough, they totaled the same amount of assists on the season as the Dragons did, with both squads assisting on 409 baskets. They turned the ball over at a high rate with 12.6 turnovers per game, while forcing 11.3 turnovers per game on defense. As a team they shot for a solid 45.8 percent from the field last season.

All three of the Lions leading scorers are back this season in senior guard Vinson Sigmon Jr., redshirt junior guard Avery Taggart and senior guard Winston Dessesow.

The Lions are led by second-year head coach Sam McMahon.
 
Scouting Washburn University

The Ichabod finished last season with a record of 14-15. Even with a losing record, they had a positive scoring margin, scoring an average of 69.9 points per game compared to their opponents scoring 67.3. They shot 43.4 percent from the field, while their opponents also shot for 43.4 percent. They were solid on the boards, tallying an average of 35.3 rebounds per game. On average, they had 0.9 assists to each turnover. 

Key returners for Washburn are junior forward Andrew Orr, guard Levi Braun and junior guard Micheal Keegan.

The Ichabods are led by seventh-year man Brett Ballard.