MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The MSU Moorhead Dragons men's basketball team will battle for the rights to the top spot in the NSIC this week with a couple of very important games. The first of which is against the Winona State Warriors in a Friday 7:30 p.m. tip. The Dragons second game of the weekend will be a very highly anticipated matchup between the #3 and #5 teams in the country. The Dragons will face off against the Mavericks of Minnesota State University in a heavyweight bout that tips off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Live stats and video are available at msumdragons.com
 
The Rundown

The Dragons (17-1, 11-1 NSIC), will look to grab sole possession of first place in the NSIC this week if they can come out on top of their two road matchups. The Dragons won both of their games last week and had their home court in Nemzek Fieldhouse rocking. They bested conference rival University of Minnesota Duluth 62-58 in a rugged game that came down to the wire. Then they took the victory against Concordia, St Paul, 79-72, in a game that stayed close throughout.  

Notable Dragons

Sophomore forward Logan Kinsey had one of his best performances as a Dragon in the game against Minnesota Duluth. Kinsey was awesome in all aspects of his craft, as he scored 16 points, snagged six steals, pulled down four boards, and last but not least, he played lock down defense on the last possession of the game. That possession for the Bulldogs ended in Kinsey forcing a turnover that sent the Bulldogs packing back to Duluth. 

Junior guard Jamir Price had himself a day against the Golden Bears of Concordia, St Paul. He broke the 20 point mark and scored 22 points for the Dragons while shooting above 50 percent from the floor, making 11 of 20 shots. He was also all over the court on defense and tallied four steals and six rebounds in the contest. 

Next Man Up

Junior guard Ja'Kair Sanchez popped off and had himself a weekend for the Dragons when they needed it most. With an injury to the all-important Gabe Myren, Dragon head coach Tim Bergstraser needed someone to step up big in his absence. Sanchez led the team in scoring against the Bulldogs with 19 points, and then turned around and had another fantastic day with 15 points against the Golden Bears. Sanchez has been very effective driving into the lane and drawing fouls, then converting on his free throws, making 17 of his 21 attempts last week. On the season, Sanchez has averaged 10.6 points per game.

Lovin' the Pressure

In their matchups this week that were back and forth all game, every point mattered. The Dragons came through clutch with their free throws, making 21 or 24 (87.5 percent) against Minnesota Duluth, and 16 or 21 (76 percent) against Concordia, St Paul. The Dragons have been an upper-middle of the pack team (six) in the NSIC in free throw make success, making 74.7 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe. 

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

The Dragons currently are the best in the NSIC when it comes to turnover margin. They force a very high amount of turnovers per game from their opponents (12.7). On the other end of the court they take care of the ball offensively, only committing 8.2 turnovers a game, which is lowest in the NSIC. This leaves them with a turnover margin of plus-4.5, and these extra possessions in games can come in very clutch for the Dragons.

The Dragons are led by second year man Tim Bergstraser. 
 
Scouting Winona State University. 

The Warriors (10-8, 5-7 NSIC), have had a very up and down season up to this point. Currently they're on more of a downward trend of late as they have dropped four of their last five. The lone win coming against Mary last week 68-62. In their second game last week they dropped a competitive one 77-70 to Minot State. The Warriors are led by fantastic junior guard Connor Dillon. He ranks second in the NSIC in scoring, tallying an average of 21 points per game this season. He is also talented on the glass, pulling down 4.1 rebounds per game for the Warriors. As a team the Warriors are solid on the defensive end, blocking 2.28 shots per game and snatching 25.6 defensive rebounds per game. 

The Warriors are led by head coach Todd Eisner.

Scouting Minnesota State University Mankato

The fifth-ranked Mavericks (17-1, 11-1 NSIC), sit a couple spots behind the Dragons in the NABC Coaches' poll, and the winner of this heavyweight fight will have a very good case for why they should have the number one spot in the country. The Mavericks started the season 16-0, but they finally dropped their first game of the season in an 81-71  game and very tough road trip up to Minot State. They bounced back in their next game against the University of Mary and secured an 87-71 victory. The Mavericks have one of the best guards in the NSIC in senior Malik Willingham. He could score 20 almost every night it seems, as he averages just below that mark at 18.8 points per game. He is also very on point with his passes, always finding the open man for a bucket on average four times a game. As a team the Mavericks are the highest-powered offense in the conference. They average a crazy 91.6 points per game, which is 10 points better than the next best team. 

The Mavericks are coached by Matt Margenthaler