MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Third-ranked MSU Moorhead men's basketball will play its final two non-conference games this weekend on neutral ground in Duluth, Minn. The Dragons take on Northern Michigan on Friday at 4 p.m. before facing Michigan Tech on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

Live stats and video will be available at msumdragons.com. 

Matchup History...MSUM has won the last three meetings with NMU as the Dragons topped the Wildcats at last season's GLIAC-NSIC Challenge, 83-79 in overtime. The programs have each won six games in the all-time series. MSUM first played Northern Michigan during the 1957-58 season where the Wildcats topped the Dragons, 67-59. MSUM has also won the last three games against the Huskies, defeating Tech, 85-77, last season. The Huskies last defeated the Dragons on November 20, 2009, 62-56. Michigan Tech, a founding member of the NIC, first played the Dragons during the 1949-50 campaign. The Dragons won the inaugural tilt (63-55) in MSUM's second season ever fielding a men's basketball program. 

Let's Take A Poll...MSUM will see its first 'ranked' opponent this weekend as Northern Michigan was receiving votes in the latest NABC Poll. The Dragons moved up one spot in the rankings to number three in the nation behind 369 points. Nova Southeastern made its way to the top of the poll with 400 points and all 16 first-place votes. The Dragons have not been outside the NABC Top-25 since the week of December 26, 2022. 

Sam I Am...Junior transfer Sam Hastreiter continued to settle in with the Dragons at the East-West Challenge. Hastreiter scored six points in the win over Black Hills State before scoring 11 points against South Dakota Mines. Of those 11 points, Hastreiter netted eight of those points across three minutes in the second half. The surge helped lift the Dragons over the Hardrockers, 67-61. For the weekend, Hastreiter shot five of eight (62.5 percent) from long range. 

Benninga Locked In...Senior Jacob Beeninga was named to the All-Tournament Team at the East-West Challenge after averaging 16 points per game. Beeninga also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the two Dragon victories. The Maple Grove, Minn., native leads the team in scoring per game (16) and total assists (17) so far this season. Beeninga shot 42.3 percent from the field last weekend and eight of nine from the charity stripe. 

Numbers Don't Lie...While MSUM is near the bottom of the NSIC in scoring offense (14th - 66.3 PPG), they continue to rank near the top of the league in defense. The Dragons are second in the conference, surrendering just 56.5 points per game to opponents. Despite the lower offensive total, MSUM still has the fifth-largest point differential in the NSIC (plus-9.8).

Still In The Paint...MSUM used defense and rebounding to claim two victories last weekend. The Dragons saw great interior efforts from both Jacob Jennissen and Adam Jenkins. Jennissen and Jenkins combined for four blocked shots and 26 total rebounds. On the weekend, Jennissen and Jenkins helped MSUM hold a plus-16 mark on the glass against the opposition. 

Ed, Ed and Eddy...Junior Eddie Beeninga would see his best performance of the season against Black Hills State on Friday. Beeninga scored nine points, matching his career high. All of Beeninga's points came on three-point makes as the junior hit on three of four attempts, all at needed times for the Dragons. Beeninga also dished out four assists and had three rebounds. 

Quick Scout...Northern Michigan offers up balanced scoring with four players averaging double figures. Michigan Tech goes at the rate of Marcus Tomashek, who is one of the top scorers in the country at 25.3 points a game.

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